The Starting Point
by FredandLili
Summary: Everybody makes wishes. They can't help themselves, it's part of their nature. But what if they came true. Even those crazy ones, like maybe going to a different universe. Rachelle was nothing special before the day she turned 15. When Rachelle is transported to a fictional world, she thinks that it can't get any more bizarre, but little does she know, this is just the beginning.
1. The Boy In The Ice Burg

Hey. This is the first chapter in a new story that I am starting. This will be the first book of the series that I plan on doing. Hope that you like it and that you can't wait to read more.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

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Mondays. Who in their right mind likes Mondays. People who actually like their jobs. Well, if only there were people like that in the world, because who likes their job in this world. Everybody gets stuck with a job that they didn't ever want. Stuck going through the motion in a life they never wanted to live. So what do they do? They turn to entertainment. Worlds of fiction. Full of characters that are more amazing than anyone that they would ever know, and they follow them along their journey. Being there with them in spirit. And how many of those people would not give up everything that they have in the world to be there with them, going on those amazing and thrilling journeys? But unfortunately, that is impossible but that doesn't stop them from dreaming. Or me for a fact.

So as I sit here in fourth-period math, I debated the likely hood of someone being transported into another universe, one of which contains the universe of a fictional world. Could a device be created that would allow people to go to another universe, just like the Lutece twins did in Bioshock Infinite? But do these universes that these characters live in even exist? Or are they just an imagined world? One that even if we could go into different universes we would never be able to find because they never existed in the first place. But maybe we could find them. Some people speculate that these worlds of fiction come through the cracks of the universe, seeping into the minds of people who can hear them. I would like to think that they exist out there somewhere, just waiting for us to find them. I know I would jump at the chance to live in a fictional world. It just seems so much better than the one we live in, more dangerous but better. Not that I hated my life. It was fine, average, boring. I had friends if that's what you would call them. I made nice grades and was very smart, but maybe I just really like learning. I didn't get bullied or noticed by anyone, even my own friends forgot about me most of the time. Not that it bothered me all that much, maybe made me a little lonely but I knew it was just because of how quiet I was. Not that I was shy, I didn't fear talking to people, I just didn't have anything to say to them so I didn't say anything at all. Maybe that's why I dove my life into fictional worlds, I spent more time with fictional characters than I did with actual people. But who could blame me. Hang out with hormonal, immature teenagers or 900-year-old time lord that travels the universe saving thousands of people; I think the choice is pretty obvious.

I let out a deep sigh as I closed my notebook hearing the bell ring for school to be over. I shoved the notebook into my book bag before slinging the bag over my shoulder and heading out of the classroom into the busy hall. I slowly walked with the flow of people around me, wishing that they would walk faster than what they were so I could get home and relax. Once I got out of the busy hallway I made my way outside to start on my one-mile trek back to my house. Before opening up the door and going outside, I slipped my bag off my shoulder and onto the ground as I put on the jacket I had been carrying over my arm for most of the day. It was still pretty chilly outside as it was only the beginning of March, March 4th to be exact. 15 years after the day I was born, not that it was a big deal. A few people had wished me a happy birthday, mostly acquaintances that had seen a notification from Facebook. I wasn't a big birthday person. So what I'm exactly one day older than what I was yesterday, it's not like we magically grow a year older on that exact day. We grow throughout the year so what makes today any more special than all the other days. But that was my opinion on the matter.

I wrapped my jacket around me as the cold winter wind bit into my skin making me wish that the wind would just stop, but unfortunately, I live in Kansas. And as always, the wind never stops blowing. Besides the freezing wind, it was a pretty nice day out. The sun was shining brightly in the sky and there wasn't any snow on the ground making my feet cold. It was quite peaceful as well. You could hear the birds singing to each other and the tree branches swaying in the wind. Several minutes later of walking I arrived at my house. It was a nice house that we had moved into not that long ago. It had six bedrooms, three of which were unfinished in the basement. It wasn't exactly what we were wanting, but we settled. I walked in through the garage that was empty of cars showing that my mom and dad were both not home and that I had the house to myself. I enjoyed the time I had by myself at home, and after school was about the only time that I ever got it. My brother, as much as I loved him, was super hyperactive. Ever since he started going to school it had only gotten worse at home. He was nice and calm at school so when he came home he used up all the energy that he hadn't used at school, which was a lot. So I enjoyed the alone time that I actually got peace in this house, with no one watching me or judging me where I could just be free and myself.

I made a quick pit stop at my bedroom, throwing my bag and jacket inside before going to the kitchen and looking for some food to eat. I usually didn't eat the nasty school lunches that were served and instead I waited until I was home to eat. I opened up the fridge to be disappointed by the food which was stored within it. Instead, I went to the cupboard and pulled out a package of ramen noodles which was usually what I ended up eating most days. I wasn't the healthiest person, but these days who really was. Being healthy takes too much time to fit into people's busy schedules and who even knows how to be healthy anyway, it's not like they teach you in school. I unwrapped the package of noodles and placed them in a bowl when a sharp pain resonated within my body. My body fell up against the counter, unable to support itself. My teeth clenched together as my nails dug into my palms, almost as if my body had no other defenses. My legs collapsed underneath me sending my arms flying wildly around trying to stop the fall, but all they managed to do was knock off the bowl that sat on the counter, spilling the uncooked contents next to me. My head hit the ground with a hard thump sending my world spinning around me. The raging sharpness that filled my body left me blind to my surroundings. My body twisted and contorted trying to get away from the source of this agony. Blinded with the pain that had filled my body, I failed to notice that the room around me was slowly fading away. Then as quickly as it had come the pain was gone throughout my body, but I didn't have time to relax as the ground beneath me was gone with the rest of the room. I fell through the air, the wind whipping around me. I let out a scream, maybe for someone to hear me or maybe just because screaming made me feel like I had a little more control over the current situation. I closed my eyes and waited for the landing that would surely be my demise.

The air stopped rushing past me telling me that I stopped falling, but I still didn't open up my eyes for the fear that when I opened them I would see that I was dead. The first thing that I realized was that if this was the afterlife then it was very cold and snowy. I felt snow under my hand, maybe I wasn't dead. I slowly opened my eyes, fearing what I would see when they were open. At first, I couldn't see anything due to the light streaming into my eyes, but once my eyes were focused I saw a white thing right in front of my face making me jump back slightly. Now that it wasn't so close to my face, I could see that the object was actually a spear and at the end of the spear was a boy about my age. He looked familiar but I couldn't place where I had seen him before. His eyes stared down threating, sending non-exist daggers towards me as his mouth moved up and down. He's talking. Oh, he's talking to me!

"Huh? Sorry were you talking to me?" I asked him as innocently as I could. If I hadn't been so freaked out by the currents events then I would have chuckled at his expression towards my comment. His scowl deepened but I could slightly see a pull at the corners of his mouth telling me that he was slightly amused by my actions.

"Yes," He replied to my question slightly annoyed. "Now, as I was saying before, who are you? What are you doing here? Are you with the fire nation?" His stare hardened and became deeper with each question that he asked. My eyes widened with fear and my mouth dropped open not sure what to respond with. But more importantly, fire nation? No. No freaking way. I must have miss heard him. I looked back at him and realized where I had recognized him from. Avatar the Last Airbender. No way. This, this, this is just crazy! I'm dreaming. I must have had a seizure and this is a coma induced dream. Do seizures even put people in a coma? I don't know but what I do know is either I'm dreaming or I'm insane. I looked around at my surroundings and that's when I realized, this is a cartoon. And I don't mean Avatar the Last Airbender, I knew that was a cartoon, but the area around me looked like an actual cartoon. What was even weirder was that I hadn't noticed it before, and even now it was like my mind wanted me to forget that the world was supposed to look different and this is what it had always looked like. It's like I knew it looked like a cartoon, but I didn't want to know that it looked like a cartoon.

My attention was drawn back to 'Sokka' when he shouted at me, "Answer my question!"

"Sokka!" shouted a girl coming out of the crowd and standing next to Sokka. "Leave the girl alone! She obviously is scared out of her mind, and you standing there barking out threatening questions isn't helping." The girl that I recognized as Katara came over and offered her hand to me with a kind look in her eyes. I took her hand and she helped pull me up to my feet, for which I was glad for because my bottom was becoming an ice cycle. "I'm Katara, and the jerk that was talking to you before is my brother Sokka."

"I'm not a jerk!" Sokka yelled from behind her. Katara rolled her eyes at her brother while the first smile that I've had here appeared on my face.

"I'm Rachelle," I said giving her a kind smile, one which she returned to me.

"Here," She said grabbing my hand. "Let me take you to get some warmer clothes." She was right about me needing some warmer clothes. Even though it had been cold outside back home, I was only wearing a thin sweater, black leggings, and some boots. I wasn't even wearing my jacket anymore because I took it off when I got home. Katara lead me to an ice hut which she pulled me inside of. She let go of my hand and went over to a dresser before pulling open one of the drawers. She moved around some objects inside of it before pulling out a blue, thick coat and giving it over to me. "Here, this should keep you plenty warm." I took the coat from her while thanking her. I put on the thick coat and immediately started to feel warmer. I pulled my hair out of coat as I turned around to see Katara again. She now had gloves in her hand that she handed to me. "And here are some gloves," she said as I took them gratefully from her, giving a small nod of appreciation. She leaned up against the wall as I put on the gloves, "If you don't mind me asking, where are you from?"

I could feel my heart rate increase at the question but I answered anyway, "I'm..." What do I say? I definitely don't look like I'm from a Water Tribe and I obviously can't be an Air Nomad since they're all gone besides Aang of course. That just leaves the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom, and since being from the Fire Nation wouldn't go over all that well I guess that leaves the Earth Kingdom. "From the Earth Kingdom."

I could see Katara's eyes light up with excitement when I said that, "Really?! That's amazing! What are you doing here?"

I took a big gulp before responding, "Oh, um, you know, wanted to travel the world." I was surprised she couldn't see my guilt in my eyes. I didn't want to lie to her, but what choice did I have. What was I supposed to do? Say oh yeah, you know just coming from a different universe where your whole life is a story for other people's enjoyment. Because I'm sure that'll go over great. Besides I still think that this is just a dream and nothing more, so it doesn't even matter anyway.

"Wow! That has to be incredible. Where all have you been?" Katara stared questioningly at me.

I scratched the back of my neck while giving a nervous chuckle, "Ha, you know. Here, there, everywhere." Luckily enough for me, I think Katara got that I wasn't all that comfortable talking about my so-called 'journeys' and changed the subject.

"Hey," she said stepping away from the wall towards the door. "Do you want to go check on the other visitor with me?"

"You guys have another visitor?" I asked her. It's probably Aang, well hopefully it's Aang, but for all I know I could be some random person.

"Yeah! And you'll never believe this!" Katara turned and looked at me with tons of excitement in her eyes. "He's an airbender!"

So Aang was here, that's a relief. So this must be around the first episode. I faked a surprised and impressed look that I gave to Katara, "An airbender! No way! He can't really be an airbender."

"I know it's crazy, but it's true," Katara said before grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the house. "Come on, I'll take you to see him." We ran past a few other houses before Katara led me inside of the one which Aang was inside of. "Aang! Aang, wake up!" Katara shouted at him, waking him up. He sat up quickly gasping for air; if I remember correctly he was just having a nightmare about him running away and getting stuck in the ice. He looked over at Katara and me with a confused look. I gave him a small smile as his eye caught mine causing him to give me a smile back before Katara spoke again drawing his attention. "It's okay. We're in the village now. I wanted to introduce you to Rachelle. She showed up a little after you did."

"Hey," I said to Aang giving him a small wave.

"It's nice to meet you, Rachelle," Aang said in his innocence sweet voice.

"You too," I replied starting to feel more relax with this world. It was a pretty awesome dream, too bad that it would end soon enough.

We both looked over at Katara as she started to speak again, "Come on, get ready. Everyone's waiting to meet you." Quickly listening to Katara, Aang got up and put on his traditional air nomad outfit. I caught Katara looking at his airbender tattoos that symbolize that he was a master airbender, and I knew she must have been wondering what they were for or something along those lines. Deciding that she could wait no longer, she grabbed my hand in one hand while grabbing Aang's in her other. She quickly pulled us outside, barely giving Aang enough time to grab his staff. As Katara pulled us out of the house she led us to a small crowd that had gathered in the center of the village. "Aang, Rachelle, this is the entire village. Entire village, Aang, Rachelle." I gave them a small wave before seeing Aang give them a small bow. Did I need to bow too? Maybe. I quickly followed Aang's lead and did a small bow hoping that it looked ok. Even though Aang and I did nothing wrong, the people pulled back from us. It was most likely because Aang was an airbender, but they could have pulled away from me since I was new and foreign.

"Uh... why are they all looking at me like that? Did Appa sneeze on me?" Aang asked wondering the same thing that I was. I saw an old woman step out from the crowd who I assumed was Gran Gran while Aang was checking to make sure his clothes were ok.

"Well, no one has seen an airbender in a hundred years," Gran Gran said drawing Aang's attention to her. "We thought they were extinct until my granddaughter and grandson found you."

"Extinct?" Aang asked confused by her statement. I looked towards the ground with sadness coming upon my face just imagining how hurt Aang was going to be when he found out about his people.

"Rachelle, Aang, this is my grandmother," I looked up at Katara as she introduced her grandma. I gave her grandmother a small nod of my head showing her I acknowledge who she was and am saying hello.

She looked between Aang and me before speaking to the two of us, "Call me Gran Gran."

While Gran Gran was talking to both Aang and me, Sokka grabbed Aang's staff and started inspecting the object. "What is this, a weapon? You can't stab anything with this." I rolled my eyes at Sokka, of course, his first guess was that it was a weapon and that Aang was there to attack them. Not that I could blame him after everything that has happened to him, to all of them. His dad put him in charge of protecting the village that's what he's doing, even if he does go to the extremes.

"It's not for stabbing," Aang told Sokka before he airbended his staff back to him. A smile crept up on my face when he did this. Airbending! Actual real airbending! That's so unbelievable. Aang continued on telling Sokka about his staff, "It's for airbending." And with little more airbending, Aang had opened his staff turning it into a glider with red wings.

"Magic trick! Do it again!" a little girl shouted from the crowd of people who were still watching Aang.

"Not magic, airbending. It lets me control the air currents around my glider and fly," Aang explained to the girl, showing her what he meant by moving the glider around with his hand.

"You know, last time I checked, humans can't fly," Sokka said with certainty that he was right just like he always thinks, but he was about to be proved wrong.

"Check again!" Aang said before launching himself off the ground and into the air holding onto his glider. He soared through the air doing loops and tricks as the entire village watched him with wonder, me being one of them.

"Oh my gosh! He's really airbending," I said to Katara in absolute amazement with a huge smile on my face.

Katara looked over at me with a similar expression on her face, "I know right!" We were both flabbergasted by Aang's airbending. Me because I couldn't believe that I was seeing actual airbending even if it was just a dream, and Katara because she thought all the airbenders were extinct. Aang looked down at Katara who gave him a big smile of wonderment. Unfortunately, Aang had gotten so caught up in Katara that he stopped paying attention to where he was flying and slammed right into the watch tower Sokka had built. Everyone laughed at Aang's actions as he pulled himself free of the snow and fell to the ground with his glider.

"My watchtower!" Sokka gasped beside Katara and me. I don't know why he was so upset, I don't know how much time he put into it, but it couldn't have been that much considering that he has it rebuilt by the time Zuko arrives.

"That was amazing," Katara stated as she went to go help Aang up.

I went over to help as well while saying, "I have to agree with Katara that was pretty amazing." Aang gave both of us a grin as he twirled his glider shut causing a snow bank to bury Sokka who was examining the damage done to his watch tower.

"Great. You're an airbender, Katara's a waterbender, together you can just waste time all day long," Sokka mumbled annoyed as he brushed the snow off of his pants.

"You're a waterbender!" Aang shouted in excitement of learning the knowledge of Katara's bending abilities.

"Well... sort of. Not yet," Said Katara with a small blush forming on her face caused by Aang's excitement about her bending. I felt bad for Katara, not knowing how to bend water because the fire nation had taken away all of the other waterbenders.

"All right. No more playing. Come on, Katara, you have chores. Rachelle, would you like to help?" Gran Gran called out to Katara and me. Even though she asked if I wanted to help, I knew it was more of a command. Not that I minded, after all the kindness that they had shown me helping out with a few chores was the least I could do to show my appreciation. I gave her a nod of my head as Katara and I followed her away.

"I told you! He's the real thing, Gran Gran! I finally found a bender to teach me," Katara said excited by the newfound hope that she had. I smiled at this, Aang had just gotten out of the iceberg and he was already doing what he did best, giving people hope.

Gran Gran, though, having many years of experience did not want her grandchild to get hurt by this airbender and said, "Katara, try not to put all your hopes in this boy."

As much as Katara loved her grandmother, she knew that she had to trust Aang. "But he's special. I can tell. I sense he's filled with much wisdom," She told her grandmother before looking over to Aang. I followed her gaze to see Aang with his tongue frozen to his staff with a crowd of children gathered around him.

"Sthee? Now my tongue ith thuck to my sthaff," Aang mumbled trying to talk with his tongue stuck. A child next him grabbed the staff before yanking the staff away but Aang's tongue stay attached causing the children to laugh. It also caused both Katara and me to giggle a little bit.

"He's sure filled with something," I quietly said under my breath as to have no one hear my comment. Gran Gran still heard it though and gave a small chuckle.

Katara looked at us confused for a second before asking me, "Hey, Rachelle are you a bender?"

I shook my head no, "No, well not that I know of anyway." I really didn't know if I was a bender, probably not, though. It would be absolutely amazing, though. I think I would want to bend water, or fire, or maybe air, or perhaps earth. Oh, that's too hard of a decision. I want to be able to bend all four of them. Aang is so lucky to be able to. "But hey, maybe one day I'll magically discover I can bend an element."

.

I followed Katara as we looked around for where Aang had gone, but so far we had found no sign of him. We came upon Sokka who was frustrated at that the little kids he was trying to train and was having no luck in doing so. "Have you seen Aang? Gran Gran said he disappeared over an hour ago," Katara asked her brother.

I tapped on Katara shoulder and pointed in the direction of a small igloo, "Look." Aang emerged from the small building adjusting his pants.

He smiled over at the young boys before gesturing over his shoulder at the toilets and saying, "Wow! Everything freezes in there!" And there was Aang's infinite wisdom. The children found it funny at any rate and laughed at his joke.

This infuriated Sokka to no end as he yelled at his sister, "Ugh! Katara, get him out of here. This lesson is for warriors only." Our attention was turned away when a kid squealed with joy a little way away from us. Appa had his tail propped up on a makeshift sawhorse as kids used his tail as a slide before landing on a pile of snow. The children laughed as they fell down, I looked over at Katara and we both started laughing with them.

"Stop! Stop it right now!" Sokka yelled at all of us causing our smiles to slide. He then turned to Aang who was now sitting on top of Appa, "What's wrong with you? We don't have time for fun and games with a war going on." With this statement, a frown appears on my face.

"What war?" Aang asked confused as he hopped down of Appa, landing gracefully on the snow. Which was the moment that I realized that there was a giant beast standing in front of me, the most awesome and amazing giant beast in the world. But now was not the time to be excited about meeting Appa. "What are you talking about?"

"You're kidding, right?" Sokka asked disbelieving that Aang could really not know anything about the war. Aang's gaze moved off of Sokka and off into the distance that stood behind him.

Suddenly Aang let out a loud yell, "PENGUIN!" We all looked over to see the penguin which had noticed that it had been seen and let out a squeak before quickly waddling away. Using his airbending, Aang ran at unbelievable speed towards where the penguin had just been. In another situation it would have been funny, but not in this moment.

"He's kidding, right?" Sokka asked again, still not believing Aang's question. I put my hand on his shoulder causing for him to look over at me.

"I don't think so," I said sadly looking off at the horizon Aang had disappeared over.

.

I walked through a beach full of penguins that waddled around squawking with Katara, hoping to run into Aang. "Aang?" Katara called out to Aang to get his attention. Aang didn't hear her, being too busy with trying to catch a penguin which he was failing miserably at.

"Haha! Hey, come on little guy. Wanna go sledding?" Aang said before lunging forward trying to catch the penguin only to fall flat on his face. As we approach him he got up and tried to act like that hadn't just happened. "Oof! Heh heh, I have a way with animals," he said to us before putting his arms out and waddling around trying to imitate the penguins that surrounded us. "Yarp! Yarp yarp! Yarp! Yarp yarp! Yarp!"

Aang caused both Katara and me to laugh before Katara called out to him, "Hahaha... Aang, I'll help you catch a penguin if you teach me waterbending."

"You got a deal!" Aang said without hesitation, but his looked turned a little worried after that.

"Just one little problem. I'm an airbender, not a waterbender. Isn't there someone in your tribe who can teach you?"

Katara looked away from us as she spoke with sadness in her voice, "No. You're looking at the only waterbender on the whole South Pole." I gave Katara's hand a little squeeze and gave her a small smile telling her that it was going to be alright.

She returned the smile as Aang started talking again, "This isn't right. A waterbender needs to master water. What about the North Pole? There's another Water Tribe up there, right? Maybe they have waterbenders who could teach you."

"Maybe. But we haven't had contact with our sister tribe in a long time. It's not exactly 'turn right at the second glacier.' It's on the other side of the world," Katara sadly put with a downtrodden expression on her face.

"But you forget: I have a flying bison. Appa and I can personally fly you to the North Pole. Katara, we're gonna find you a master!" Aang said to Katara making smiles grow on all three of our faces.

"That's..." She said happily before she continued on in a more uncertain tone. "I mean, I don't know. I've never left home before."

"Everyone has to leave home eventually," I told Katara, but she still looked pretty uncertain about leaving home. Which I don't blame her. I mean I still have three years back home before I have to live on my own and I'm still freaking out about it. Let alone having it just shoved upon you like this.

"Well, you think about it. But in the meantime, can you teach me to catch one of these penguins?" Aang said with a smile appearing on his face.

A grin appeared on Katara's face as she started talking like she was a wise old lady, "Okay, listen closely my young pupil. Catching penguins is an ancient and sacred art. Observe." She pulled a small fish from her coat before tossing it to Aang. The penguins instantly flocked around Aang, hoping to get the fish he held in his hands. A few fishes later and the guidance of the wise Katara, I was on top of a penguin speeding down an icy hill hoping that I don't get myself killed. I let out a loud laugh as Katara, Aang and I rocketed off an ice bank before landing on another bank below. We continued down the hills as each of us took off of separate ramps trying to get ahead of each other. Aang landed in front of Katara before Katara took off of her ramp and landed in front of him. I took a big gulp as I guided my penguin to a giant ramp that may have looked bigger in my eyes since I was about to fly myself off of it. I closed my eyes and prayed that I did not kill myself doing this. I felt myself fly off the ramp and I slowly opened my eyes as I flew through the air before landing in front of Katara and Aang. They quickly sped up to my sides as we all starting laughing together. "I haven't done this since I was a kid!" Katara yelled to us.

"You still are a kid!" Aang reminded her as he laughed.

"I have never had this much fun!" I told the two of them as we sped down the ice. All three of us burst off in joyous laughter. What I told them was true. I never thought that speeding to my death on penguin could be so enjoyable, but it was. We continued to rocket across the frozen landscape before entering a system of tunnels. It was as beautiful as it was fun as the light streamed in through the holes in the ceiling causing the icy snow below to sparkle like diamonds. The three of us emerged from the tunnels finally slowing to our descent. I stood up from my penguin and watched as it waddled away slightly dizzy from the ride. I looked over at Aang and Katara to see them staring at something. I followed their gaze and saw what had stopped them, the fire nation ship. My stomach dropped looking at it, it was massive and this ship probably wasn't even all that big. And suddenly things got real. They got very real, and I remember the dangers that came with the fun. But this was just a dream, right? No fighting for me. Just internet and school and ramen noodles. Not fire nation and being almost killed. Right? Right.

"Whoa... what is that?" Aang said drawing my attention back from my thoughts.

"A Fire Navy ship, and a very bad memory for my people," Katara said in a deathly serious tone. Aang began to walk towards the ship before Katara stopped him, "Aang, stop! We're not allowed to go near it. The ship could be booby trapped."

"If you wanna be a bender, you have to let go of fear," Aang told her before walking back towards the ship. Katara looked over at me seeing what I would do. I just shrugged my shoulders, telling her I didn't know what to do either. She looked away and started making her way towards the ship. I followed beside her, knowing that this wasn't a good idea but not saying anything about it. We climbed into the ship through a hole in one of the forward compartments. We walked around the dark corridors inside, passing a few rooms before going inside of one. It was full of Fire Nation weapons, the same weapons they used to destroy people's lives.

"This ship has haunted my tribe since Gran Gran was a little girl. It was part of the Fire Nation's first attacks," She told Aang and me giving us more information about the ship.

"Okay, back up. I have friends all over the world, even in the Fire Nation. I've never seen any war," Aang said causing Katara to give me a worried look which I mimicked back to her.

She turned her head back over to Aang and asked him, "Aang, how long were you in that iceberg?"

"I don't know... a few days, maybe?" Aang said, worried about what Katara might say.

"I think it was more like a hundred years!" Katara exclaimed with the realization dawning on her.

"What? That's impossible. Do I look like a hundred-twelve-year-old man to you?" Aang tried to get Katara to joke with him but you could tell that he was seriously worried.

"Think about it. The war is a century old. You don't know about it because, somehow, you were in there that whole time. It's the only explanation," Katara told him while trying not to frighten him.

"She's right Aang, it makes sense," I said agreeing with Katara.

I watched as Aang put his hands up to his head while walking backwards. He slowly sank to the floor devastated by this realization, "A hundred years! I can't believe it."

Katara and I went over and knelt down beside him. "I'm sorry, Aang. Maybe somehow there's a bright side to all this," Katara said to him with a small smile.

"I did get to meet you," Aang said giving Katara a tiny small. He then turned to me with the smile still on his faces, "And you too, Rachelle."

"Yeah, you did," I gave Aang a smile before reaching down and giving his hand a small squeeze letting him know that everything was going to be ok.

Katara smiled before standing up and saying, "Come on. Let's get out of here." I stood up as Katara helped Aang get to his feet. We kept on walking before Aang entered a darkened room with Katara and me following slightly behind. "Aang? Let's head back. This place is creepy."

"Huh?" Aang barely got the syllable out of his mouth before his foot caught on the trip wire that was on the floor. Suddenly a gate dropped behind us blocking the way we came in. "What's that you said about booby traps?" Everything around us started working again, steam began to build pressure and wheels began to turn. A loud explosion was heard around the room and we quickly ran over to the window looking out of it, trying to see what happened. "Uh oh," Aang said quietly as a flare rose to the sky before exploding with a shower of sparks. Aang looked up at the hole in the ceiling before turning back towards Katara and me. "Hold on tight!" He told Katara before grabbing her and launching both of them through the hole in the top of the ship. A few seconds later I saw Aang's arm reach down the hole waiting for me to grab it. I went over and grabbed it before I was pulled up to the top with Aang and Katara.

"I'm going to take Katara down to the ground and then I'll be back," Aang told me. I gave him a small nodded telling him that that was ok. I watched as he grabbed Katara and quickly descended to the ground with her. As I stood there waiting, I looked out over the ice; I knew that Zuko was out there looking exactly where we were at. I saw the reflection of something off in the distance. I looked over that way, wondering if that's where the ship was at. I turned back around as I heard Aang land back at the top. "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," I told him as he grabbed me and started jumping down the boat. In no time at all, we were at the ground where Katara stood waiting for us. Aang quickly set me down as we all rushed back to the village.

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So I hoped you liked it. If you have any comments or suggestions just let me know by leaving a review or pm. Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter and hope to see you on the next.


	2. The Avatar Returns

Chapter two is now here! I hope that you all enjoy and have a good time reading. Thanks for all the favs, follows, and reviews. They really help me keep on writing and helps me to write a better story. So thanks.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

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I walked beside Aang as the three of us made our way back to the village. As we came over the horizon we could see all of the town's people standing, waiting for us to get back, causing the sinking feeling that I had in my stomach since we came upon the ship to sink deeper into the black abyss that my stomach contained. The children came out of the crowd and gathered around Aang yelling, "Yay! Aang's back!"

As the children circled around Aang, Sokka came out of the crowd and pointed at Aang and me before angrily yelling, "I knew it! You signaled the Fire Navy with that flare! You're leading them straight to us, aren't you?"

I crossed my arms and scoffed at him as Katara spoke back to him, defending Aang and me, "Aang and Rachelle didn't do anything. It was an accident."

"Yeah, we were on the ship and there was this booby trap and well..." Aang tried to explain while putting his hand on the back of his head while he was thinking. "…we 'boobied' right into it." I mentally slapped my forehead at Aang's explanation of what had happened on the ship.

"Katara, you shouldn't have gone on that ship. Now we could all be in danger!" Gran Gran told her, not caring if it was an accident or not.

"Don't blame Katara! I brought her there," Aang said trying to save Katara from her Grandmother. He looked down at the ground ashamed before confessing, if that's what you could call it since we really didn't do anything wrong, "It's my fault."

"Aha! The traitor confesses! Warriors, away from the enemy!" Sokka ordered the children. They slowly backed away from Aang and headed back towards Sokka and Gran Gran, "The foreigners are banned from our village!"

"Hey," I shouted at him. I don't know why he was banishing me, I wasn't the one that 'confessed' to setting off the booby trap, "Why am I banished?"

"You're banished because we can't trust either now. For all we know you're helping destroy our village," Sokka shouted ridiculous accusations at me. I didn't do anything about his comment, though, I just pursed my lips together. Let him banish me from the village, it's not like it matters anyway.

Katara turned angrily at her brother and shouted at him, "Sokka, you're making a mistake."

"No! I'm keeping my promise to Dad. I'm protecting you from threats like him!" Sokka replied back to his sister with the same ferocious look on his face that his sister did.

Katara gestured to Aang and me as she continued on with her argument, "Rachelle and Aang are not our enemies! Don't you see? They've brought us something we haven't had in a long time. Fun."

"Fun?" replied Sokka at her comment in disbelief of what she was saying. "We can't fight firebenders with fun!"

"You should try it sometime," Aang chimed in innocently.

Aang's comment set Sokka off and he yelled at the both of us, "Get out of our village. Now!"

"Grandmother, please, don't let Sokka do this," Katara begged her grandmother to change Sokka's mind about this decision. A sad look appeared on my face as I knew that her grandma would be no help in this situation. Which it was only our fault for being banished, not I had that much choice. We had to go on that ship so Zuko would come and everyone would find out that Aang was the avatar and then the siblings would go rescue him and travel with him, but that only would have happened if we went on the ship.

"Katara, you knew going on that ship was forbidden. Sokka is right. I think it best if the airbender and the girl leave," Gran Gran told Katara not allowing Aang and me to stay in the village.

"Then I'm banished too!" Katara yelled in an outburst before taking Aang by the shoulder and walking off. I quickly followed behind her with a frown on my face. I didn't want to cause Katara and her family to fight. "C'mon, Aang, Rachelle, let's go!"

"Where do you think you're going?" I heard Sokka yell from behind us furious, but also a bit scared of what his sister was doing. He had lost both his mom and dad; he didn't need to lose his sister as well.

"To find a waterbender! Aang is taking me to the North Pole! And Rachelle is coming with us," Katara stated with fire in her words.

Aang's face turned confused before it brightened up, "I am? Great!" I shot a look to Aang telling him that he needed to be quiet and that he wasn't helping the situation. He gave me a small smile telling me that he was sorry.

"Katara!" Sokka yelled at us getting Katara to stop for a minute. "Would you really choose him over your tribe? Your own family?" I could see the look of doubt on her face as she was faced with a hard decision. Give up her chance to learn waterbending or leave her family and home. I looked over at Aang as he looked over at me. We gave each other a small nod agreeing on what needed to happen here. We both came up beside her and gave her a sad look.

"Katara, I don't want to come between you and your family," He told her the truth and helped her make her decision. He turned away and started walking over to Appa.

Katara looked over at me hoping that I would tell her that it was ok to leave and run away with Aang and me, "You need to stay with your brother Katara. He needs you, just like you need him." I gave her a small smile before following Aang over to Appa.

"So, you're leaving the South Pole? This is goodbye?" Katara called out to Aang and me with despair in her voice.

"Thanks for penguin sledding with me," Aang told her, not being able to say goodbye.

"Yeah," I said looking over at Aang with sad eyes before turning to look at Katara. "Thanks for everything."

"Where will you go?" Katara asked us with a tremble in her voice.

Aang put his hand on Appa's head and replied, "Guess I'll go back home and look for the airbenders. If that's ok with Rachelle." He gave me a questioning look to make sure that I was ok with the plan. I gave him a nod of my head telling him that it was ok before he looked down at the ground thinking of something. "Wow, I haven't cleaned my room in a hundred years. Not looking forward to that." I smiled at the younger boy, I was glad he could joke in the sad tension of the area. As Aang airbended himself up onto Appa's head taking the reins, I climbed up the side of Appa, hoping that it didn't hurt to have me pull on his hair. He didn't say anything so I assumed that it didn't bother him. To tell the truth, I was almost nervous that I wouldn't have enough muscles to climb up him. "It was nice meeting everyone," he told the village.

"Let's see your bison fly now, air boy," Sokka taunted Aang.

"Come on, Appa, you can do it! Yip! Yip!" Aang tried to encourage Appa to take off in the air. Unfortunately, Appa was still too tired from being trapped in ice for a 100 years and only stood up when Aang spoke to him.

"Yeah, I thought so," Sokka said proudly as he was proven right. I leaned over the side of the saddle and gave Appa a small pat telling him that it was ok. I looked up at the sound of a little girl crying from the group of people before coming and standing next to Katara. I recognized the girl from earlier when I was playing with the kids in the village.

Even from here I could see the glistening of tears in her eyes as she called out to us, "Aang! Don't go! We'll miss you!"

"I'll miss you too," Aang called down to her as I gave her a small wave goodbye. Katara and Aang looked sadly at each other before their gaze broke and Katara looked at me. We both held sadness in our eyes as Aang had started Appa moving away from the village, "Come on, boy." I turned around to see the village disappearing before I looked forward at the icy tundra that was before us. I let out a deep sigh and closed my eyes. For a dream, I did feel really tired and drained. I opened my eyes back up and saw Aang looking at me from Appa's head. "Your eyes are really nice," Aang complemented me. "I have never seen anything like them." What? Why were my eyes different? They were normal eyes, nothing different about them. They were a nice green with hints of yellow and gray, but that wasn't really unusual. Then it dawned on me. My eyes! I wasn't Asian. Everyone in this world was Asian. No wonder Aang thought my eyes were weird. He's probably never seen eyes like them. My confusion must have shown on my face because a faint blush spread across Aang's cheeks. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. I just noticed that they were different from anything that I've seen before. Not that they're a bad different! No! A good different! Wide and pretty!" I chuckled as Aang's blush grew as he tried to make up for his comment.

"It's ok, Aang. I know what you meant," I gave him a smile as I laughed at his action. He gave me a kind smile before turning back around to the front. A few minutes later Aang suggested that we stop and let Appa rest, which I was totally cool with. I sat in a hole that had formed in an ice block just like Appa had in front of me and Aang had up higher on the ice. Appa rumbled in front of me causing me to look over at him.

" Yeah, I liked her too," I heard Aang reply quietly to Appa's rumble. I smiled at him before looking out over the ice.

I let out a gasp and sat straight up as I spotted Zuko's ship headed towards the village. "Aang, look!" I yelled, pointing over to where the ship was.

Aang looked at where I was pointing before shouting, "The village!" He slid down off his perch landing on the ground below as I did the same from mine. He looked over at Appa and told him, "Appa, wait here!" Appa let out a small rumble in reply as Aang and I took off towards the village. Using the tricks Katara had taught us, Aang and I grabbed two penguins and started speeding towards the village. I followed slightly behind Aang as we quickly got closer and closer to the village. I watched as Aang disappeared over the horizon for a few seconds before I came up over the hill just in time to see Aang fly under Zuko knocking him to the ground. I slowed my penguin and got off as Zuko's helmet landed right on his bottom. I laughed like the rest of the village at Aang miraculous return. Aang stopped beside me and got off of his penguin, letting it waddle away. "Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka," Aang said while I just gave them a small wave and smile.

Sokka looked at us for a few seconds before he dryly said, "Hi...Aang, Rachelle. Thanks for comin'."

"It was our pleasure," I replied to the boy with a smug grin on my face because I knew that he needed us here, well more like Aang. He let out a deep sigh but didn't say anything more. I looked over at Zuko to see him standing back up and he was not very happy to see us. Aang stepped forward ready to battle with him. Aang quickly pushed back the men on his sides with blasts of air before he turned to Zuko and did the same to him.

"Looking for me?" Aang asked Zuko while taking a defensive position.

"You're the airbender? You're the Avatar?" Zuko asked with an incredulous tone.

I watched as the mouths of people around me slowly fell open with the shocking news. "Aang?" Katara asked quietly, not sure she believed what her ears just heard.

"No way," Sokka said disbelieving Aang's new identity.

Zuko and Aang slowly circled around each other in the center of the village, "I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training. Meditating. You're just a child!"

"Well, you're just a teenager," Aang said countering Zuko's comment. Zuko did not like what Aang had to say though and started blasting fire at him. Aang quickly dissipated each blast by twirling his staff in front of him like a helicopter blade. Aang tried his best to shield the village from the fire but the flames still wrapped around him and reached behind him where the villagers were. I turned my face away from the hot flames not wanting to get blasted with fire. It was quite sad that the first firebending that I've ever seen was used in such a cruel and violent manner. But then again, probably everyone's first memory of firebending was not a good one. Hearing the cries of the villagers, Aang stopped the fight and talked to Zuko, "If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?" Zuko stood still in his firebending stance thinking about it for a second before he relaxed and nodded his head. I watched as a guard took Aang's staff and led him aboard the ship.

Katara left my side running forward trying to reach Aang while yelling, "No, Aang! Don't do this!"

"Don't worry, Katara, it'll be okay," Aang tried to comfort Katara as they pushed him forward roughly. "Take care of Appa for me until I get back."

"Head a course to the Fire Nation. I'm going home," I barely heard Zuko as the entrance began to close. Aang looked back at us, putting on his brave face to say that he was going to be ok. But seeing that Katara was in pain of him being taken away caused his face to drop slightly before it was covered up by the ship.

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After Aang had been captured, nobody asked me to leave so I walked up behind Katara as she stood at the water's edge looking out over the sea. I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked over at me and gave me a tiny smile, one which I returned. Out of the corner of her eye she must have seen her brother coming towards us, because she spun around turning her back to him before sternly telling him, "We have to go after that ship, Sokka. Aang saved our tribe; now we have to save him."

"Katara, I—"Sokka tried to interrupt his sister to tell her he was coming with them, but Katara quickly cut him back off.

"Why can't you realize that he's on our side?" I looked over at Sokka as his eye caught mine and you could tell we were both laughing at Katara's actions. "If we don't help him, no one will. I know you don't like Aang, but we owe him and I—"

"Katara! Are you gonna talk all day or are you comin' with me?" Sokka said as he motioned to the canoe he had gotten ready to go.

"Sokka!" Katara said as she tackled her brother in a bear hug. I smiled, glad to see the two siblings no longer fighting about the foreign visitors.

"Get in. We're going to save your boyfriend." I burst out laughing at Sokka's comment, oh if you only knew.

"He's not my—," Katara said getting mad at Sokka's and my actions.

"Whatever," Sokka quickly recovered himself from his sister. Only Katara couldn't see me mouth 'totally her boyfriend' before making kissy faces. My actions caused Sokka to let out a huge laugh, alerting a Katara that something was going on.

But before we could suffer from Katara's rage, Gran Gran came over, drawing her attention, "What do you three think you're doing?" All of our faces suddenly held an innocent look to them, trying to fool her that we were doing nothing wrong. Gran Gran eyes glared down at us for a moment before a smile took its place as she offered up two blue bundles. "You'll need these. You have a long journey ahead of you. It's been so long since I've had hope. But you brought it back to life, my little waterbender." She handed Katara one of the bundles before wrapping her in a hug. "And you, my brave warrior, be nice to your sister," she said to Sokka before hugging him like she had to Katara.

"Yeah... okay, Gran," Sokka promised his grandma backing away from the hug.

"And you, Rachelle. Promise me that you will take care of my grandchildren," Gran Gran asked me.

"Of course," I told her without hesitation. "After all the kindness and generosity that you have shown me, it's the least that could do." She pulled me into a hug like she had down with her grandkids before handing me the other blue bundle.

"Aang is the Avatar. He's the world's only chance. You both found him for a reason. Now your destinies are intertwined with his," As their grandmother finished up her goodbye Sokka and Katara looked at each other not knowing how to take this whole destinies and intertwining business.

Turning to the canoe behind us Katara addressed a problem that we had, "There's no way we're gonna catch a warship with a canoe." Just as she finished up her sentence the solution to the problem came over the horizon and into view, emitting a low rumble to signal his appearance.

"Appa!" Katara and I said at the same time before running after him together.

"You just love taking me out of my comfort zone, don't ya?" Sokka shouted at the two of us as we grinned up at the giant beast. A few minutes later Appa was swimming through the water with Katara at the reigns and Sokka and me on the saddle. With minimal effort and care, Sokka called out commands to Appa, "Go. Fly. Soar."

"Please, Appa, we need your help. Aang needs your help," Katara said trying to get Appa to fly in a much more caring way, but it still didn't work. Of course, I knew that we just needed to say yip yip and Appa would take off into the sky, but I was going to wait for them to figure that out.

"Up. Ascend. Elevate." I shook my head a Sokka's effort in this matter.

"Sokka doesn't believe you can fly, but I do, Appa," Katara tried again as she petted him. "Come on. Don't you wanna save Aang?" Appa rumbled a response as if to say yes but didn't take off flying in the air. Katara looked to me for help, but if just shrugged my shoulders telling her that I didn't know what to do either, even if I did.

"What was it that kid said? Yee-ha? Hup hup? Wahoo? Uh... yip yip?" I grinned as Sokka said the magic words. Appa gave a deep rumble from underneath and began to flop his tail. Slowly we began to rise out of the water getting higher until we took off into the sky.

"You did it, Sokka!" Katara said ecstatic by the fact that we were now flying through the air. I looked over at her and gave her a big grin as she gave me a mirrored look.

"He's flying! He's flying! Katara, he's—!" Sokka said not believing the action of the giant beast. Both Katara and I turned around and gave him a smug look knowing that he thought Appa wouldn't be able to fly. Seeing these looks Sokka tried to be nonchalant at the fact that we were now flying through the air, "I mean, big deal, he's flying."

Katara and I laughed at his action before we all just took in the wonder of flying through the sky. I looked over the edge and stared down at the water below. This was so cool! I didn't care if I did have to wake up in a little bit, it was still freaking amazing. I turned back around in the saddle and looked over at Sokka who was still looking over the edge. "So, does this mean that you no longer think that I'm going to go burn down your village?" I asked him raising an eyebrow at him as he turned around to look at me.

"Hey! You can't blame me," Sokka said throwing up his hands. "You just appeared out of nowhere. What was I supposed to think?"

"Sokka," I told him chuckling. "I'm pretty sure this is the part where you say you're sorry for banishing me from the village."

"Sorry," Sokka said quietly staying quiet for a few moments. "But I still don't think you can blame me." I laughed at Sokka as well did his sister. In a few short minutes, Zuko's ship came into view as we all sat on the edge with anticipation of rescuing Aang. As we got closer to the ship we were able to make out small figures standing on the deck of the ship. Making out Aang was easy since he was the only one in air nomad colors. He stood on the edge of the ship redirecting the fire that was being shot at him. The three of us sat on the edge of Appa trying to get a better look what was happening. All of us let out a gasp as a blast of fire was too much for Aang and knocked him overboard.

"Aang! No!" Katara yelled from beside me. I tightened my grip on the saddle as Katara continued to yell his name. "Aang! Aang! AANG!" Moments later my breath was taken away from me and I swear my heart forgot how to beat when Aang rose out of the water with a tornado of water surrounding him. Aang's tattoos and eyes were glowing white showing that he was in the Avatar state. I knew that this would happen when Aang fell into the water, but I just didn't expect it to be so surreal. It was unlike anything I had ever even come close to seeing before. It was like my mind couldn't comprehend what my eyes were seeing. In the midst of me still dazed from the action of the young boy, he moved over to the ship before bending the water to gently set him down on the deck. Using the water from the column that held him before, he wrapped it in a circle around him before expanding it outward knocking Zuko and his men overboard. Katara was the first to speak up about what just happened, "Did you see what he just did?"

"Now that was some waterbending!" Sokka said the same incredulous tone his sister had talked in. I, on the other hand, said nothing, just sat there with my eyes wide with fear and amazement still not quite believing what my eyes were seeing. As we landed Appa on the ship Aang fell to the ground, not being able to stand after the huge energy expenditure. The three of us quickly jumped off of Appa and ran over to Aang.

"Aang! Are you okay?" Katara called out to him as the three of us surround him making sure that he was ok.

Aang sat up slightly using whatever energy that he had left, "Hey Katara. Hey, Rachelle. Hey, Sokka. Thanks for coming." I gave him a small smile as he gave the siblings and me a weak one.

"Well, I couldn't let you have all the glory," Sokka said to Aang making his smile grow a little larger. Aang's eyes grew large with fear when he realized that he lost his staff.

"I dropped my staff!" Aang said with the energy he had gotten from worrying about losing the old relic.

"Got it!" Sokka told Aang letting Aang relax as he ran over to pick up the staff. I look at Sokka running towards the staff for a second before turning towards Katara and speaking to her.

"Katara, help me get Aang up onto Appa," Katara gave me a nod of her head before putting one of Aang's arm around her shoulder as I did the same with the other. We walked over to Appa before helping Aang up onto his head. As Appa stood up with Aang now on his head, the guards that had been washed down the deck by Aang were now getting up and heading towards us. As they got closer and closer to us, I looked around trying to find something to defend myself with, but there was nothing. I couldn't bend anything, I didn't know any self-defense, not that I had any muscles to do anything at all; I didn't even have a boomerang-like Sokka. I felt so useless. Deciding that I was no help in this situation, I climbed up on Appa and sat in the saddle while Katara got into a defensive position. I watched as Katara picked up a stream of water before trying to whip the guards with it. Unfortunately, it went the opposite way that Katara had intended for it to go and instead of freezing the guards it froze her brother's feet to the ground.

I grimaced at Katara's mistake as Sokka let out a loud wail towards his sister, "Katara!" I watch Sokka for a second as he started to chip away the ice holding his feet before turning back to Katara to see her trying to freeze them once more. Learning from her mistake she faced the opposite direction of the guards hoping that it would go backwards like it had the time before. And sure enough, it worked.

"Yeah! Go Katara!" I yelled happily at her. Now that the guards were frozen, Katara ran over to Appa as I helped pull her up onto the saddle.

"Hurry up, Sokka!" Katara yelled out to her brother who was still trying to chip away all the ice. I couldn't hear what he said, but I knew that he was muttering 'I'm just a guy with a boomerang; I didn't ask for all this flying and magic'. I had liked that line, so it was easy to remember what he was saying. Only a few seconds later, Sokka had freed himself from the ice and ran up Appa's tail joining Katara and me on the saddle.

"Yip yip! Yip yip!" Sokka said quickly getting Appa to rumble before taking off into the sky. As we flew away from the ship a massive fireball was sent towards us causing Katara's, Sokka's, and mine expressions to change into a look of horror. As the ball of fire approached us, Aang jumped in front of us standing on the back of Appa. Using his staff almost like a baseball bat, Aang airbended the fireball into the side of the glacier. The fireball exploded causing ice and snow to come crashing down onto Zuko's ship causing it to be trapped in the narrow channel. The other three laughed as we flew farther away from the ship, now safe from Zuko, but I just sat there trying not to let the fact that I was extremely freaked out by everything show on my face.

After we had put a decent amount of distance between the ship and us, Katara started talking again, "How did you do that? With the water? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen."

Aang sat cross-legged on the bridge of the saddle looking down on us. You could tell that he was worried by the question that Katara had asked him but he still replied to the best of his ability, "I don't know. I just sort of... did it."

"Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?" Katara asked him another hard question.

"Because... I never wanted to be," Aang said quietly. I small frown appeared on my face; I couldn't help but feel bad for the kid. Who would want to know that at the age of 12 you had the responsibility of keeping peace in the world? Even now more than before, now he had the duty of fixing the mess in the world, a world he had been away from for a hundred years. But to Katara, it only meant that she could hope for the war to end.

"But Aang, the world's been waiting for the Avatar to return and finally put an end to this war."

"And how am I going to do that?" Aang said looking down, doubting that this was going to be possible.

"According to legend, you need to first master water, then earth, then fire, right?"

"That's what the monks told me."

"Well, if we go to the North Pole you can master waterbending."

This made a smile form of Aang's face, "We can learn it together!"

Katara now turned to Sokka and spoke to him, "And Sokka, I'm sure you'll get to knock some firebender heads on the way."

"I'd like that. I'd really like that," Sokka said almost dreamily.

"And Rachelle, this will give you an opportunity to travel around to other places in the world you haven't been yet," Katara said to me like she needed to convince me that this was a good idea. This was just a dream, so I wouldn't be going to the North Pole, but even if I was staying I wouldn't need any convincing.

"Yeah, that'd be great," I said giving her a fake smile, hoping that she wouldn't notice that I was still freaked out by the earlier events.

"Then we're in this together," Katara exclaimed with a smile on her face.

Aang pulled out a scroll as he started talking, "Right, but before I learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to." He gently airbended himself down in front of the three of us before opening up the scroll to reveal a map. I moved myself to the side of the map, getting a better look at it. "Here, here, and here," Aang said pointing to a different spot each time.

"What's there?" Katara asked, curious as to what Aang wanted to do.

"Here," He said pointing to one place on the map. "We'll ride the hopping llamas. Thenwaaaay over here," Aang continued moving his finger to the other side of the map. "We'll surf on the backs of giant koi fish," he moved his finger once more. "Then back over here we'll ride the hog-monkeys. They don't like people riding them, but that's what makes it fun!" I smiled at Aang, the places he mentioned sound really fun, too bad I'll be gone by then... Well hopefully.

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Well, there you have it. Hope it was to your liking and that you can't wait for the next chapter. Leave a review or pm me if you have any question, comments, or suggestions. Thanks!


	3. The Southern Air Temple

Yay! Chapter three is here at last. I really like this chapter, so I hope that you like it as well. I'd like to thank everyone who followed, faved, and left a review. I love hearing from everybody and get others opinions on the story of how to make it better.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

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I let out a loud yawn as I rubbed my eyes that did not want to open to the rising sun. I felt like I had been asleep forever, but my body still did not want to get up. I opened my eyes slowly as I allowed them to adjust to the sun. What a great dream? Most of the time I could never even remember my dreams, especially if they were exceptional. The majority of the dreams I did remember were really weird. Like one time I had a dream where the plastic spider on my cupcake grew giant and started twitching. The next thing I know, I'm huddled in a corner with my mother and we are both screaming that it was a rabid spider. Talk about weird, it got even weirder as we called animal control who then proceeded to lock up the spider and feed it a ton of potatoes. But this dream I was waking up from was plain awesome. I loved the Aang gaang, as I always liked to call them. Even though I do love them and it was amazing dreaming of them, I don't think I'm quite cut out for that life. Deciding that the sun was too much, I just kept my eyes closed before I shifted around under my blankets allowing my muscles to stretch out from a peaceful night's sleep. My bed seemed oddly uncomfortable, but I figured that I was just being weird. Well, at least, I thought that until something hard poked into my back. I quickly sat up from my sleeping place with my eyes finally taking in my surroundings. I rapidly turned my head around looking where I was. I was sleeping in a forest clearing underneath a sky, the same clearing from my dream. I was not inside my house like I was expecting. I spread my hands out over the blue sleeping bag that covered my body, the same sleeping bag that Katara's Grandmother had given to me the day before. But that was just a dream? There's no way that it was real. It's just- It's impossible.

As I felt my heart beginning to beat a hundred miles per hour, I quickly got out of the sleeping bag, making sure not to wake Katara who was sleeping next to me. With panic spread across my face, I slowly back away from the camp and towards the forest behind me. I reached my hands out behind me and when they touched a tree, I turned and ran. I was running faster than I had ever run before. I felt branches and twigs slap across my body and tug at my clothing. Fallen debris stabbed in my feet as they ran across the forest floor. Tears of fear had slowly started to run down my face as I made my way farther and farther away from the camp and into the forest. I saw the forest flying past me before the ground came into view getting closer to my face with each passing second. My hands flew out in front of me to protect myself from the fall. My hand held me up as I looked down at the ground my face had almost hit.

Before I could comprehend what happened sobs escaped from my mouth making my body tremor. I was already breathing hard from running more than I had in two years and now that I was sobbing I felt like my lungs were barely receiving enough air to function. I fell down to the ground and curled up into a ball as I was hyperventilating and sobbing all at once. What was I going to do? Am I just supposed to stay here?! Live in this world for the rest of my life! Would I never see my mother again? My Father. Brother. Grandparents. Friends. What about school? And oh, what would my mother do when she finds out I'm not at the house? Will she think I've run away? Or that I've been kidnapped? How many days, years will she spend waiting for me to come back before she gives up and moves on? And what about me? Am I just supposed to create a life here? There's a war going on. Am I going to be in the middle of a war?! I'm only fifteen! I shouldn't be fighting in a war. I should be at home in my bed about ready to get up and go to school. Not here, having a mental breakdown in a middle of a forest all alone. I can't fight in a war! I have no fighting skills. Today was the first day I've run in years. How am I supposed to fight when I'm just a weak teenaged girl? I don't even have a strong will? I give up will the going gets tough! Not stay strong. I always wanted to stay strong, but I knew deep down inside that if I was ever put in a situation like this I break down and would just let other people fight my own battles.

After a few moments, my breathing slowed back down to almost normal and only a few tears continued to stream down my face. I wiped the remaining tears from my face as I rolled over to my back. I spread my limbs out as if to make a snow angel as I looked up at the trees blocking my view of the sky. I saw a few spots of light streaming through the spaces between the leaves. I lifted up my hand and ran it through one of the light rays that was hitting my face. I twisted my hand around it making it go from light to dark, blocked to unblocked. It was peaceful here. It was mostly quiet except for the birds chirping, the wind blowing through the leaves every now and then, and the sound of me breathing softly. It made me want to fall back to sleep. I hoped that maybe if I fell back asleep I would wake up and be home. But down inside of me I knew that that wouldn't happen, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. I was stuck here now. Stuck in a world where I don't belong.

I pushed myself up to a sitting position. I sat silently for a few more minutes before I stood up from the ground. I should probably go back to the camp, the rest of them should be waking up at any time and I didn't want them to think I had run off. I started walking back the way I had come from. I was worried at first that I was lost in the forest and that I wouldn't be able to find my way back, but luckily for me, I made quite a mess running there. I had left myself a trail of broken twigs and footprints. After a few minutes of pushing through branches, I could start to make out the clearing up ahead. I wiped my hands over my cheeks and eyes, hoping that no one would be able to tell that I had been crying. At least, I didn't have to worry about my makeup being all over the place since I had taken it all off last night. I stopped at the edge of the forest as I listen to Katara, "Aang, Rachelle still isn't back. You don't think something happened, do you?"

I quickly stepped out of the forest raising my hand as if I was in a classroom. "I'm here," I shouted to them, getting them to look at me from their seat on Appa.

"Where did you go?" Katara asked me politely.

"Oh, um, I went to the bathroom but I got kind of lost," I meekly said while I lower my hand to the back of my neck and gave a slight smile to the couple.

Both of them smiled back at me before Katara talked again, "You didn't even take your shoes."

"Ha ha," I laughed awkwardly. "I thought I wouldn't need them." I threw my hands up to my shoulders as Katara and Aang chuckled at my comment. As I walked over to my sleeping bag I saw Aang jump down from Appa and walk over to Sokka who, surprisingly, was still asleep.

I listened to Aang try to wake Sokka up as I rolled up my sleeping bag. "Wake up, Sokka! Air Temple, here we come!" Aang said awakening Sokka.

Sokka made a few groggy noises before speaking, "Sleep now... temple later..." A few seconds later I heard Sokka start snoring once again.

As I finished rolling up sleeping bag, I looked over to see Aang with a stick in his hand heading over towards Sokka. I grabbed my boots and sat down on the ground to put them on as I watched Aang wake up Sokka. "Sokka! Wake up!" Aang yelled before he ran the stick up and down Sokka's sleeping bag. _"_There's a prickle snake in your sleeping bag!"

"Aaahhh! Get it off! Get it off! Aaahhh!" Sokka yelled while hopping around in his sleeping bag trying to get away from the 'prickle snake'. Sokka then lost his balance causing him to fall flat on his face. Katara and I let out a lively laugh causing an irritated look to appear on Sokka's face. I stood up from the ground with shoes now on my feet before brushing the dirt off my pants.

"Great! You're awake. Let's go," Aang said while I grabbed my sleeping bag and went over to Appa. Katara reached down and grabbed my sleeping bag before tying it up next to hers. Before long we were all loaded up and we took off in the sky to the southern air temple. I spent most of the ride there just looking up at the sky, trying not to freak out. I talk to gaang some, but for most of the ride, it was pretty silent. I guess it was nice to be left alone with my thoughts, but at the same time, I wish I had something to take my mind off of everything.

My thoughts were interrupted as Sokka spoke with an annoyed tone, "Hey, stomach, be quiet, all right? I'm trying to find us some food." I turned my head over to Sokka and saw him searching the bag that was supposed to hold the food. He stuck his hand in the bag before just dumping its contents out on his hand, which were only a few crumbs. "Hey! Who ate all my blubbered seal jerky?"

"Oh, that was _food_? I used it to start the campfire last night. Sorry," Aang said up from Appa's head.

"You WHAT? Awww, no wonder the flames smelled so good," Sokka replied with a downtrodden tone. I gave a slight chuckle at how hurt he was that the food was gone. I was reasonably hungry now that he had mentioned food. We had this weird soup stuff that Katara had brought from the South Pole last night for dinner, and let me tell you it wasn't all that delicious. Besides that, I hadn't eaten anything while I had been here.

"The Batola mountain range! We're almost there!" Aang shouted as we came upon a range of mountains. I looked at the landscape as we flew through the mountains; it was beautiful here although it was rather chilly, only maybe a little bit warmer than the South Pole.

As we traveled the last leg of our journey I listened to Katara talk to Aang, "Aang? Before we get to the temple, I want to talk to you about the airbenders."

"What about 'em?" Aang asked. They all died.

"Well, I just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless. They killed my mother and they could have done the same to your people," Katara spoke trying to tell Aang not to get his hopes up because of course, they were dead, but Aang refused to believe that. And why would you believe that? Even if you thought it was true, wouldn't it be better just to go on believing that everything was fine?

"Just because no one has _seen_ an airbender doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all. They probably escaped," Aang said full of optimism still. Poor Aang. Poor me. Poor everybody. To be trapped in such a terrible life with such a terrible fate. But hey! That's life for you.

"I know it's hard to accept," Katara once again tried to tell Aang what had happened to his people, but with some things, the only way to believe them was to see them be true.

"You don't understand, Katara. The only way to get to an airbender temple is on a flying bison, and I doubt the Fire Nation has any flying bison. Right, Appa?" Aang said, not understanding that they had their ways of getting to the air temples. Appa let out a grunt of affirmation anyway before Aang called out yip yip to get him to fly higher. We turned tightly around a mountain face before quickly rising higher into the air. I held onto the saddle as the wind was so forceful it about knocked me off of my seat. A few seconds later Appa straightened out as we flew into view of the Southern Air Temple. My mouth dropped opened at the sheer beauty that this place held. It was probably the most beautiful piece of Architecture that I had ever seen. But I had never really seen any amazing architecture, I mean, I live in- I lived in Kansas. It may have been the biggest city in Kansas, but that doesn't mean it was very big.

"There it is... the Southern Air Temple," Aang announced our arrival.

"Aang, it's amazing!" Katara told him

"It's absolutely gorgeous," I said from the saddle agreeing with Katara. Not long after, we landed at the base of the Air Temple and began making our way up the path.

After a few minutes of walking, Sokka began to complain about his stomach once more, "So where do I get something to eat?" I looked over at him and saw him clutching his stomach with a very cross looking face.

_"_You're lucky enough to be one of the first outsiders to _ever_ visit an airbender temple and all you can think about is food?" Katara asked, amazed by her brother's action. How could she not be hungry either is the real question? She hasn't eaten anything today, none of us have.

"I'm just a simple guy with simple needs," Sokka said not bothered by his sister's comment.

"That's ok. I feel you Sokka. I'm kind of hungry too. Maybe we'll be able to find some food here," I told him. Sokka looked over at me so pleased that I had agreed with him and his stomach. I shook my head with a diminutive smile on my face amused by the fact that he was so happy about what I said. We stopped walking as Aang came to the edge of the path.

Aang pointed to an area down below before talking, "So that's where my friends and I would play airball!" I looked to where he was pointing to see a court filled with poles sticking out of the ground at varying heights with a goal at each end of the field. "And... over there would be where the bison would sleep... and..." he pointed to another area before trailing off and sighing.

"What's wrong?" Katara asked obviously picking up that something was bothering Aang.

"This place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison. Now there's just a bunch of weeds, I can't believe how much things have changed," Aang said with sadness in his voice. I couldn't help but feel bad for the boy. He ran away from home, and when he came back everything was gone. How could you cope with that? Especially if you were only twelve years old and you had to shoulder the responsibility of stopping a war and putting peace back into the world. At least, he was familiar with this world, this world is completely different from mine. Maybe too different, at least for me.

As the three of us stood behind Aang we exchanged a look of concern for the boy. "So, uh, this airball game? How do you play?" Sokka said changing the subject and the tone. Aang smiled at Sokka happy to talk about his old life.

"Hey Aang," I called out to Aang getting his attention. "Is it ok if I look around the temple?"

"Yeah sure. Just don't get lost," Aang joked with me smiling.

I look at him seriously for a few seconds before speaking, "I make no such promises." I then grinned jokingly at him before giving everyone a small wave.

As I started to walk away Aang called out to me, "Don't worry, if you get lost we'll come find you!"

"I'm not gonna get lost!" I yelled as I turned around to look at them. I continued to walk backwards as I stuck out my tongue and put my hands to my head as if to make moose antlers. I could see them laugh at me before I turned around and continued to walk on. My smile speedily faded away now that they could not see my face. I climbed a few stairs before entering a hallway that was lined with arches allowing you to see outside. Knowing now that nobody could see me, I let out a big sigh. I felt the weight of being here sit on my eyelids making them want to close and cease to open. I had to act like nothing was wrong this whole morning. I couldn't let any of them know something was wrong because then they would ask if I was alright and then I'd have to lie to them and then I'd just feel even more terrible than what I did before. I stood in front of the doors to enter the temple thinking for a few seconds before I opened them up and stepped inside. I walked down the deserted hallway in silence. It was even more stunning in here then the temple had looked on the outside. The walls were painted with pictures of the air nomads and elegant designs that could tell you just how rich the air nomad's culture was before, well, before they were taken out by the fire nation.

After walking for a bit I stopped in front of a door. It was a plain wooden door with a blue air symbol on the front. I slowly opened the door before cautiously stepping into the room. Light from the window streamed into the room allowing me to see the contents it held inside. There wasn't much in the room, just a small bed that looked like it belonged to a child, a nightstand, a wooden wardrobe, and a little stuffed rabbit. I walked over to the bed and sat down causing the accumulated dust to fly up in the air. I reached over and picked up the toy rabbit that was sitting on the pillow. I held it in my hands as I brushed off the dust that had settled on it. Once the rabbit was clean of dust I spoke out loud, "There you go, good as new." My voice echoed off the walls. The sound felt awkward in the silence of the room and somehow it made me want to cry. Trying to ignore the feeling in the air, I sat the rabbit back down on the pillow before standing up. I looked down at the spot where I had been sitting moments before. It was obvious that it was a child's room. I wondered if the child liked living here, if they had been an airbender or not. But a room could only tell you so much. I felt a single tear roll down my face. "I'm sorry," I softly whispered to the ghost of the once living. I slowly walked over to the window and looked down at the outside. It was some kind of courtyard that had been covered in the winter snow. I should go find it, maybe it would help relieve me of my worries that clouded my mind. I left my spot at the window and walked back over to the door. I glanced back at the room one more time before I stepped out into the hallway, firmly closing the door behind me.

I searched the hallways for some stairs and finally found some a few minutes later. The stair led me to an opening with an archway leading to the courtyard outside. Before I went through the archway, I looked at the mural on the wall opposite of it. It was definitely the most stunning mural that I had seen since I've been here. Unlike the other paintings I had seen throughout my time here, this mural was made of different types of stones instead of paint. I reached my hand out and traced the picture that they made. It looked as if it was the story of how airbenders learned airbending through the air bison. I turned my back from the mural and started towards the archway.

I let my hand gently graze the side of the arch as I stepped out into the courtyard. Snow covered the ground, but something was off. The terrain was all lumpy and uneven. I slowly stepped forward farther out into the courtyard before I crouched down to the earth in front of the weird snow patch that covered the majority of the ground. I hesitantly reached out to the area in front of me with my hand shaking. The air felt absent of noise and left me with only the sound of my own breath to fill the void. I felt the cold snow hit the tips of my fingers before I brushed away the layer of snow that had fallen. I felt something hard underneath my fingertips as the snow fell to the ground. Afraid of what I would find I quickly wiped the rest of the snow off the object. Birds took off into the sky breaking the silence as my hands retracted and my feet pushed me as far away as they could. My mouth opened to scream but nothing came out. A skull! That's was the snow was covering. And I'm sure that skull was attached to a body. I scooted backwards as fast as I could until my back hit up against the wall. Bodies. That's what was buried out there in the snow. That huge courtyard, all but about a foot away from the wall where I came in was higher off the ground than the entrance. That means… that… that whole courtyard is covered in bodies… dead bodies. There weren't even any dents in it! 'The courtyard is covered in hundreds of bodies!' my head screamed. I looked out and I could see patches of orange clothing through the snow, but no red. They didn't just die out there. They were slaughtered! Lined up till no more could fit in and then lit on fire! The soldiers must have put them out before they turned to ash. They had just let them burn enough until they would die then left them there to suffer. Hundreds! Slaughtered. Executed. Butchered. Massacred. Pick your choice!

I pushed myself up against the wall before slowly moving towards the stairs. My hand guided me as my eyes never left the courtyard. I felt the opening the stairs causing me turn around and run up them. I didn't stop running when I got to the top, I just kept running. I ran up so many flights of stairs. I didn't know if I'd ever be able to stop. I'd finished a flight of stairs when I heard a loud sound of doors opening followed by distant voices telling me that the gaang wasn't too far away from here. I clumsily walked away from the stairs, my hand supporting me against the wall. I slowly lowered myself to the floor and pull my knees to my chest. I put my hands on my face, it was wet, I must have been crying. I don't think I had blinked. No, I was certain of it. I hadn't blinked since… since I was down there. I was too mortified to close my eyes, too terrified of the images that would flood my brain if I did. My eyes stared at the floor through the cracks of my fingers. My breathing was echoing around the hall entering my ears as a constant beat.

A moment passed and I had calmed down. My breathing was back to normal and my tears were all dried up, but I still felt like I couldn't blink. I took a gulp and I stood up from the ground. I followed the hallway, walking in silence, even no chirping of the birds or rustle of the wind. I stared straight ahead of me and walked. My stare only shifted when I heard the word "Lemur!" shouted from the hallway way ahead. Momo. Not a moment later a lemur jumped onto my face before jumping off and running away behind me. Aang then flew past me, going at an inhuman speed. Then followed Sokka who was shouting something about food and killing Momo. They had somehow broken the spell that had been cast over me and I finally felt like I could breathe again. I quickly jogged into the room they had left. It was beautiful in there as well, but it made my stomach toss and turn.

I saw Katara standing there looking up at one of the Avatar statues. I went and stood behind her not alerting of my arrival. After a few seconds of silence, I walked up to her and grabbed her hand starting to pull her away from the statue she was looking at, "Come on, I want to show you something." Katara was shocked to see me there, but she gave a nod of her head. I dragged her over to the ramp that went up and up into the ceiling and ran up the seemingly never ending spiral with her. The one thing that I really wanted to see while I was here was the statue of Avatar Wan. Surprisingly enough it didn't take very long to get to the end. I slowed down and let go of Katara's hand as we approached the end statue. Unlike the others that had been carved out of stone the statue in front of us was made of wood.

"Who is that?" Katara asked me out of breath from all the running.

I took a deep breath of air since I was also out of breath and began. I stretched out my arm and indicated to the wooden statue, "This Avatar Wan, the first avatar."

"Wow!" She looked over at me. "How do you know that?"

"I learned about him when I was traveling," I lied to her placing my hands on my hips. "I'll have to tell you guys the story of how he became the first Avatar some time." Of course, I knew the story from Legends of Korra, but I had to lie about where I got it from. I think they all would be interested in learning about it.

"Yeah, that's sounds really cool. I'm sure the others would want to hear about it too," Katara said interested in it. I gave Katara a nod before turning to the statue. I had rather liked the story about him. It was probably my two favorite Legends of Korra episodes. I put my hands up to my chest and bowed in front of the statue. I stood in that position for a few seconds before standing up straight.

I looked over at Katara who was staring at the statue, wondering about something, "Come on. We should go look for your brother and Aang." She gave me a nod and we started to head back down to the ground. We were about half way down when our chatting was interrupted by the statues eyes suddenly turning blue. We turned to each with worried looks before we both spoke at the same time, "Aang!" We took off running down the spiral and towards Aang. A few minutes later we enter a dilapidated building which Aang and Sokka were in. Katara and I joined Sokka who was hiding from the wind behind some rubble. I looked over and saw where Aang was. It was creepy really, to see him so powerful and angry. He had a tornado of wind surrounding him as his tattoos and eyes lit up with a blue light.

"What happened?" Katara asked her brother.

"He found out firebenders killed Gyatso," Sokka replied to her shouting over the howling of the wind.

"Oh no, it's his avatar spirit! He must have triggered it! I'm gonna try and calm him down," Katara said to the two of us.

"Well, do it before he blows us off the mountain!" He yelled at her before she slowly started to approach Aang. Both of my hands gripped the top of the rubble trying to stop myself from floating in the air as I watch Katara fight against the wind. Aang rose up in a ball and suspended himself in mid-air.

Katara hid behind the rock in front of us and began to try and talk to Aang, "Aang, I know you're upset... and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love. I went through the same thing when I lost my mom." As Katara spoke Sokka grabbed my hand getting my attention before motioning his head to the rock where his sister was hiding. I gave him a nod and we started walking up next to Katara fighting the powerful wind that Aang was creating. "Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. Rachelle, Sokka and I, we're your family now."

"You're not alone Aang, you have us now," I added on to the end of Katara speech. Katara looked over at me and gave me a loving smile one which I gladly returned to her. Slowly Aang began to descend to the ground and the wind started to die away. With Aang's eyes and tattoos still glowing, the three of us came up to his side.

_"_Katara, Rachelle and I aren't going to let anything happen to you. Promise," Sokka said as things slowly started to calm down. As Katara grabbed one of Aang's hands, he collapsed into her with the lights fading from his eyes and tattoos, leaving him exhausted and grief-stricken.

"I'm sorry," Aang said softly from his place on the ground.

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault," Katara said back to him.

"But you were right. And if firebenders found this temple that means they found the other ones, too. I really am the last airbender," Aang said miserably. Katara tightened her hug around Aang as Sokka and I laid a comforting hand on the boy.

.

I walked beside Katara as we enter the room with the statues of the past Avatars. We quietly came up behind Aang and stood beside him. "Everything's packed. You ready to go?" Katara asked him as he continued to stare up at the statue of Avatar Roku.

"How is Roku supposed to help me if I can't talk to him?" Aang asked us.

"I think Roku has a way to communicate to you. I mean he's a part of you, isn't he? I think you just have to wait until the time is right," I told him. Of course, I knew that Aang would talk to him during the winter solstice. Our conversation was interrupted by a shadow being cast over the three of us. We turned around to see a furry creature standing in the doorway. After a moment, the lemur ran over to Sokka and deposited a bunch of fruits at his feet. We all smiled as Sokka immediately starting digging into the food.

"Looks like you made a new friend, Sokka," Aang commented, amused.

"Can't talk. Must eat," Sokka mumbled out with his stuffed mouth between taking bites.

As Sokka talked, Momo ran over to Aang and climbed up to sit on his shoulders, "Hey little guy."

"Aw, he's so cute," I said reaching over and scratching Momo behind his ear. "Although, he did attack me earlier, jumped all over my face." As I finished speaking Momo climbed my arm and sat on my shoulder. I turned and looked at him before he started to sniff the back of my neck. I then felt him lick the back of my neck, and unfortunately for me, I was extremely ticklish. "Ah Ha! That tickles!" I shouted as I tensed up my shoulders. I heard Katara and Aang laughing at my misery and I couldn't help but start laughing as well. After laughing at my pain for few moments, Aang helped detach Momo from me before we headed outside and got ready to leave.

I helped Katara put the final touches of packing up the few things that we had used here before Aang came over and started talking with the lemur on his arm, "Katara, Sokka, Rachelle... say hello to the newest member of our family."

"What are you going to name him?" As Katara asked the question to Aang, Momo quickly jumped off of Aang and grabbed the peach Sokka was eating before returning to Aang.

"Momo," Aang said grinning at the lemur. Sokka stood there staring at the animal not moving now that his food had been taken causing the three of us to laugh at him. Laughing with Aang and Katara at Sokka's Sokkaness made me realize something, what Katara said was true. This was my new family. Even though I was in a strange and dangerous new land, I wasn't alone. I had the gaang. And if Aang could be strong enough to wake in a new century having to stop a war. And if the airbenders could be strong enough to stand up to the fire nation. Then surely I could be strong enough as well.

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I hoped you liked it. I feel like you will either really like it or you won't really care for it at all. I really like it because I feel like it gives an accurate presentation of how a person would react in a situation like this. Most stories that I've read where I person gets transported into a fictional world they just are cool with it. They don't really freak out or anything too major, they just go with the flow. But I feel like that wouldn't happen. I feel like it would be so crazy and terrifying that you would break down. And even though it would have it's positive side, it would be a lot to take in. So I hope that you feel that way too, or at least understand where I'm coming from. Leave a review or pm with any comments, question, or suggestion that you may have. And I hoped you enjoyed reading and can't wait for the next chapter.


	4. The Warriors of Kyoshi

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

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I looked up at the sky and sighed. I wanted to say that I was disappointed. It had been a whole week since I had landed? Appeared? Teleported? Whichever was the correct verb to use, in the South Pole and nothing has changed. I was still here with the gaang. I didn't really expect to go back to my world after I didn't wake up back in my bed that first morning, but still. I think in some part of my subconscious I had hoped that somehow I would be back in my house by now. But that hope had now dwindled down to almost nothing. I was falling into the routine of this world. I was starting to become part of it. A part of me was scared. I didn't want to become part of this dangerous world. But another part of me was happy. If I was stuck here forever, or at least until my life ended, then wouldn't it be better for me just to become part of this world. Instead of fighting against it and hating my whole entire life here. Oh my gosh. I'm going to be stuck here forever. I rubbed my face with my hands as the realization dawned on me, or, at least, hit me with full force. Forever was a long, long time. Years! This is crazy. How did this ever happen again?

My worried thoughts were pushed aside as Sokka started talking from across the saddle. "You have no idea where you're going, do you?" Sokka asked Aang looking up from the map. I tilted my head backwards slightly to look at Aang.

"Weeelll, I know it's near water..." Aang said unsurely turning to look at Sokka from his place on Appa's head.

"I guess we're getting close then," Sokka stated flatly as we were flying over a huge body of water with no land in sight. I let out a sigh of boredom as I adjusted my hands beneath my head before gazing up at the endless sky once more.

"Momo, marbles please," I faintly heard Aang say followed by a few noises of scuffling, "Hey Katara! Check out this airbending trick!" As Aang called to Katara, I sat up from my position on Appa for the first time since I had lain down. My arms reached behind my back and up into the air stretching while my eyes watched Aang take the marbles between his hands. He opened them up and let the marble spin around in a circle in the gap of the now open hand hold. Aang's face lit up with a grin in his attempt to impress Katara.

My eyes wandered over to Katara who was working on sewing up Sokka's pants. "That's great, Aang," Katara said to Aang, not even bothering to look up from her work.

Aang's grin was wiped off his face with a crushed look. With a tone that matched his expression, he spoke up to her, "You didn't even look." He looked at me to get my opinion on the matter. I gave him forced smile and shrugged my shoulders slightly shaking my head, letting him know that he was just going to have to let it go. I felt as if I pitied the boy. The trials of love were never easy, not that I have any experience in the matter.

"That's great!" Katara said stopping from her work now that Aang was no longer doing his little trick.

"But I'm not doing it now," Aang let out a sadden breath. Ah, the difficulties of young love. I don't know why I'm talking about it anyway; it's not as if I'm a master romancer. In fact, I barely even talked to guys and I always got scared of finding out if a girl would be into me, so I have never had anything even close to a relationship. The most I've ever done in a relationship is think someone was cute. I wouldn't even stare at them or write their name down in a notebook, too afraid that I would get caught doing so. And knowing my luck, I would have. Perhaps that's why I never did it.

"I thought it was very nice Aang," I said trying to help Aang out. He shot me a grateful smile before returning his full attention to Katara.

"See Katara, Rachelle thought it was cool," Aang said to Katara trying to get her to see him in a heavenly light of awesomeness.

Before Katara could answer him back she was interrupted by her brother. "Stop bugging her, airhead," Sokka said waving his arms around dismissively from his spot on the back of Appa's saddle. "You need to give girls space when they do their sewing."

Both Katara and I were immediately ticked off by his comment. Stopping her sewing Katara turned to him with annoyance and anger on her face, "What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?"

"Simple: girls are better at fixing pants than guys, and guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that. It's just the natural order of things." Oh, I could slap that boy. But more than anything it made me sad. Whether in the 15th century or the 21st century or in a fictional world, people were still sexist. And what made it sadder is that just about always women were on the bottom. We should really be the ones on top, I mean we were the ones who keep the human race going. Like I know the man has an important part in the process, but the job mostly just falls to the women. And then what happens. Women get beaten down for bearing a child. She gets stretch marks that will make her 'unbeautiful', she might lose her job, and so many other things. When did supporting life ever become a bad thing that people looked down on? I guess just like a lot of people Sokka was just a victim of idea's installed into his head growing up, but I know he'll get better. Because as much as an idiot he can be at times, he's a pretty smart dude.

With an exaggerated fake happiness, Katara replied to her brother's sexist comment, "All done with your pants! And look what a great job I did!" Glowering at Sokka, Katara threw the unfinished stitched pants at Sokka letting them smack him the face.

Sokka removed the pants from his head before sending a distress call out to his sister, "Wait! I was just kidding! I can't wear these!" As he talks he sticks his arm through the hole that still remained in his pants, "Katara, PLEASE! Rachelle! Can you fix them?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and scoffed, "Well I could, I don't know if it would be very good, but I could. I'm not going to, though. Because if that's the way that you treat the opposite sex then I don't think you deserve my help." I gave him an annoyed look before I clasped my hands together at the side of my head and started to talk in a sarcastically sweet tone. "Besides, aren't you a big strong man? I thought that there wasn't anything thing that you couldn't do."

Sokka's eyebrows furrowed together as he shouted back at me, "That's not funny! I seriously need these pants fixed."

Aang cut into our conversation, ending it from his seat up ahead, "Don't worry, Sokka. Where we're going, you won't need any pants!" At this comment, I placed my hand on my head and tried to not let my amusement show. It just sounded so wrong. I just could help but think of it in a perverted way. I blame the internet. Ruining my innocence.

In no time at all, the four of us were hopping down off of Appa and on to the beach that we had landed on. "We just made a pit stop yesterday. Shouldn't we get a little more flying done before we camp out?" Sokka spoke up voicing his concern in the matter of stopping so soon in the day. I have to say I agree, although I am excited to be on Kyoshi Island and am glad to be able to walk again.

"He's right. At this rate we won't get to the North Pole until spring," Katara agreed with her brother.

While Katara was talking, Aang walked over and looked out at the water, looking for the koi fish that he wanted to ride. He addressed Katara's concerns turning to Appa, "But Appa's tired already, aren't you boy? I said, aren't you boy?" Aang then 'inconspicuously' nudged Appa with his elbow signaling that he should yawn. Appa, being the loyal companion he is, complied and let out a large yawn. Unfortunately for Aang that yawn did not sound as if Appa was actually tired. I chucked quietly at their efforts.

"Yeah, that was real convincing," Sokka said voicing what all of us were thinking. "Still, hard to argue with a ten-ton magical monster."

Aang's attention was drawn away as he gasped before pointing out over the water. "LOOK!" Aang shouted causing all of us to look out at the water as a giant koi fish jumped out of the water and into the air. "That's why we're here," he started to explain as he stripped off all his clothes expect for his underwear. "Elephant koi. And I'm going to ride it. Katara, you've gotta watch me!" Grabbing Katara's attention, Aang dived into the cold water for a second before he leaped out letting out a shriek, "COLD!"

Katara and Sokka looked at each other wryly not sure where this was going. I, on the other hand, laughed at Aang's actions. Looking over at Sokka, I saw him make the "he's crazy" signal by twirling his finger next to his head. I chuckled, "I think you're just jealous Sokka."

"Jealous! Jealous of what?" Sokka snapped as if I had just made a ridiculous accusation.

"I don't know. His awesomeness." I held a small grin on my lips as Sokka scoffed at my comment and crossed his arms. I also think I heard him mutter 'jealous, that's ridiculous' under his breath. It was then at that time that Aang had dived under the water and caught a hold of one of the elephant koi. The giant fish leaped out of the water with Aang riding skillfully on its back, his hands grasping the dorsal fin. The koi then dived back into the water, carrying Aang with it. My mouth opened up with a smile of amazement. That fish was huge! I looked over at Katara who looked just as amazed as I was. We both started to laugh at Aang's crazy actions. We looked out at Aang who was waving at us. We both happily wave back at the boy.

"Woo!" Katara yelled out.

"You go Aang!" I called out as well. A couple of other fish came up from behind and started leaping in and out of the water creating a beautiful scene. It really was quite amazing. It was beautiful. "That just looks like so much fun!" Oh, how I wish I was out there riding the fish. I had always been a thrill seeker. Give me heights and crazy dangerous things any day, asking a teacher a question or having to talk to someone, nope. Just nope. It just who I was. I don't like not knowing what is going to happen. I suppose the fish wouldn't quite be the same as the other things I'm talking about from my world, which are regulated and decently safe for the most part, but with crazy dangerous things I knew what would happen, I knew what I was getting myself into. Talking with people, though, I don't know what to expect. So then I'll spend the whole day fretting about it, coming up with conversation which could happen but probably never will happen. Sigh. Human communication. Why did I never master it?

"He looks pretty good out there," Katara commented on Aang's fish riding skills. Oh, the skills. They're real.

"Are you kidding? The fish is doing all the work," Sokka scoffed at his sister's comment.

I chuckled at him, "Are you sure you're not jealous, Sokka, because it sure sounds like you are."

Before Sokka had time to reply, Katara captured our attention calling out, "No, Appa! Don't eat that!" Katara started to run forward, but I grabbed her arm stopping her.

"It's ok, I got this Katara," I gave her a kind smile. She nodded her head before she turned back around and starting watching Aang once again. I smiled at the couple. They were so cute together. I felt that as a good, kind person it was my duty to help their relationship bloom. I slightly jogged over to where Appa had started to eat some foliage that he wasn't supposed to. I walked beside the giant creature until I reached his head. I placed my hand on his soft fur, petting him softly to get his attention. "Hey, buddy. You can't eat that, ok? It could have plants that aren't good for you." I don't know whether or not he could actually understand me, but he let out a loud grunt anyway. "Thanks, I knew you'd understand buddy." And I had a big tongue lick me. I let out a laughed as I tried to wipe away the bison spit. I looked up at the giant beast and just stared for a moment. It was very surreal seeing Appa actually in front of me. I gave one last smile before running back over to where Katara and Sokka were standing.

As I arrived back Sokka yelled, "There's something in the water!" Sure enough as looking out in the water the last koi fish tried to leap out of the water before being pulled under.

"What is it?" I asked now standing by the siblings once again.

"Aang's in trouble," Sokka told me with the distress in his voice apparent before calling out, "Aang!"

"Get out of there!" Katara yelled as well trying to get Aang's attention. While they wove their arms around in crazy direction trying to signal Aang to come back to shore, I just stood there. I know that I should be like 'Oh no, Aang! He's gonna die', but really I felt pretty calm about it. Maybe it's just because I knew that Aang was going to be ok. I felt as though I should, at least, do something so I start waving my arms around crazily as well.

"Come back here! AANG!" Sokka called out.

"AANG!" followed Katara. Misinterpreting our gestures, Aang waved back before he was thrown off of the koi fish he was riding into the water. His head bobbed up over the water a second later as he spurted the water that had entered his mouth. I watched as a giant fin came out of the water casting a shadow upon Aang. It was a huge, purple fin that jutted up into the air leaving the three us fighting even harder to get Aang to hurry back to shore. Wondering what had cast the shadow on him, Aang turned around finally seeing that there was something in the water with him, something not so friendly and not so small either. He let out a scream before he turned around and started running on the water back to shore, unfortunately, the fish followed him. Luckily, Aang reached the shore before the fish got him. I felt a breeze rush past me as Sokka's voice joined Aang's in screaming. After watching the huge fish turn around and leave, Katara and I rushed over to the boys.

While Aang got dressed and Sokka sat at the base of the tree of which he had been knocked into, Katara started to talk, "What was that thing?"

"I don't know," Aang said finishing up.

Getting up and wiping off his pants Sokka said what needed to happen next, "Well, let's not stick around and find out. Time to hit the road." Even though I knew that the Kyoshi warriors were going to jump out of the trees and attack us, it didn't really help me at all. Moments later the group of warriors jumped out of trees and ambushed us. It all happened so quick I didn't even have time to think about what was happening. The next thing I know my eyes were covered as someone tied my hands behind my back then my arms to my sides. I was then thrown to the ground in a line next to what I think was Katara and Sokka. And just a word of advice, don't ever get thrown to the ground like this, it hurts and I knew that I was going to be bruised for the next few days. Great. I love being here so much. Next to me I faintly heard Sokka mumble out, "Or we could stay a while." And with a few more jostles around we were now tied up to something, standing up, waiting for something to happen.

Suddenly a voice broke through the darkness that I had gotten used to by now, "You three have some explaining to do."

"And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you back in the water with the unagi." A voice who I recognized to be Suki continued.

Sokka then, being Sokka put his foot in his mouth and said, to what him, probably sounded brave and noble but came out sounding dickish, "Show yourselves, cowards!" I felt my blindfold being removed before the bright sunlight started streaming into my eyes. I squinted and turned my head around as my eyes adjusted to the light. After a few second I could slowly start to see the Kyoshi warriors come into view. They did look very cool all dressed up with all that make up on. They also looked very tough and scary. And here is where if I was Sokka I would say something like 'all women are scary', but I am not Sokka nor am I a sexist pig. Sokka continued to spew out sexist crap, "Who are you? Where are the men who ambushed us?"

"There were no men. We ambushed you," Suki spoke probably getting annoyed with Sokka due to the fact that she wanted to get down to business and figure out who we were. "Now tell us, who are you and what are you doing here?"

Sokka let out a small chuckle before replying, "Wait a second, there's no way that a bunch of girls took us down." Oh, yes, because you're oh so great Sokka.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Suki grab Sokka by the collar and started threatening Sokka, "A bunch of girls, huh? The unagi's gonna eat well tonight."

Katara quickly cut in to save her brother, "No, don't hurt him! He didn't mean it. My brother is just an idiot sometimes."

"Sometimes?" I said jokingly with a smirk on my face.

"Hey!" Sokka called out at my comment while Katara gave me disapproving face. I just gave her a small smile and laughed slightly. Katara then smiled a little and giggled under her breath.

Aang then cut in taking an opportunity to try and calm the situation without anyone getting hurt, "It's my fault. I'm sorry we came here. I wanted to ride the elephant koi."

The old man, however, did not seem to calm down at what Aang said and sternly told us, "How do we know you're not Fire Nation spies? Kyoshi stayed out of the war so far. And we intend to keep it that way!" For some reason, I found this comment kind of bizarre. I don't know, it just makes me wonder if this is what a world at war is like. Are people always closed off and weary of everybody due to the war? It's kind of sad. I guess it just shows that war takes away the kindness and safety that would be in a peace environment.

"This island is named for Kyoshi? I know Kyoshi!" Aang excitedly said to the man.

The old man though thought that Aang was crazy, "Ha! How could you possibly know her? Avatar Kyoshi was born here four hundred years ago. She's been dead for centuries."

Aang simply replied, "I know her because I'm the Avatar." Which of course, nobody quite believed, but it did get everybody's faces to turn all shocked like.

Suki was the first to speak what all of the people were thinking, shaking her fist at Aang, "That's impossible! The last Avatar was an airbender who disappeared a hundred years ago."

With this, a huge smile broke out on Aang's face, "That's me!" This caused me to smile slightly. I was glad that Aang was no longer running from being the Avatar. Instead, he now sounded proud to be who he was.

"Throw the imposter to the unagi!" The old man said still not believing what Aang was saying.

I watched as the warriors assumed a fighting stance. As the four of us started to panic, Katara spoke under her breath, "Aang... do some airbending..." Aang quickly broke the bonds holding him and gracefully leaped up in the air doing a backflip over the statue before landing softly on the ground. A choir of oohs and aahs was heard from the crowd as they watched Aang do some airbending magic.

"It's true... you are the Avatar!" The old man stuttered out amidst his shock.

Aang now realizing that he had everybody's attention, including Katara's, he pulled the marbles out of his shirt and got ready to perform his trick once again, "Now... check this out!" I couldn't see his face, but if I had to bet I would say he was grinning like a fool. He then did his trick hoping to show off his amazing abilities. As soon as he does his trick, the crowd burst out into cheering for him. And then you have the foaming mouth man. Ah, I love that man. He is like the ultimate fangirl, or boy in this case. I watched as he fainted on the ground, causing me to chuckle on the inside.

After the crowd had settled down we were kindly untied from the pole. I stood around kind of awkwardly while I watched the rest of the group interact with the people from the village. I kind of wanted to go shopping to get some things, since I didn't have anything at all really. But I got scared at the thought of asking Katara. And I knew that this was ridiculous, but I couldn't help the knots that formed in my stomach. All I had to do is go up and be like 'hey Katara! Can we go shopping since I own like nothing' and she'd be like 'Yeah, sure. Sounds like fun', but for some reason just no. Trying to let the thoughts fall to the back of my mind I watched as Katara finished talking to Suki and the old man. She wrapped up she was saying then she started walking over to me.

She stopped in front of me before speaking, "So, they said that it's cool if we stay here for as long as we need. So we can just relax and do whatever we want to for today."

Ok, this is it. I'm going to be real smooth and not awkward and I'm just gonna ask her if we could go shopping, "Hey, is it cool if we go shopping since I lost all of my stuff?"

"Yeah, of course," Katara said with a smile on her face. "How did you lose all of your stuff again?"

"Oh, well, I had a run-in with a polar walrus bear," I answered noncommittally not giving a lot of details on what had happened.

"Oh yeah, right. I'm still shocked that happened. They usually don't attack unless they're provoked."

"Yeah, well it must have just been having a bad day," I said giving a fake, funny reason for why it could have happened.

"Come on, let's go," Katara said before she grabbed my hand and dragged me behind her. I stumbled before I jogged up to her. We went to what I wanted to say was a shopping district area. I don't know exactly what they looked like in this world and where they were at. Even though we were here it still just looked mostly like a residential area except for the few stalls that were open selling food or little knick-knacks. Katara stopped in front of a building a surveyed it for a few moments before speaking, "Let's try in here."

I followed Katara through a curtain of beads which lead into a room full of clothes. The lights were pretty dim making it feel like one of those antique shops where barely anyone ever shops at. But instead of old relics and books this store was filled with clothes and accessories. The clothes gave off a very Asian vibe, but that was to be expected. They ranged from formal to casual but the one thing that almost all of them had in common was that they were green. There was a lot of green. This was something I found really weird about the nations. It was like you had to wear the color of that nation or else. It was so weird.

Both Katara and I started browsing through all of the clothes, trying to find something that looked decent. "What about this?" Katara called out while holding up a mucus green dress that had puffy sleeves and what looked to be like some mermaid styled bottom. To say the least, it may have been one of the horrifying things I've ever seen in my entire life.

"Oh, yes. I think that is the most beautiful dress I've ever seen," I said kind of sarcastically. But it was my kind of sarcasm, which meant it sound like I was being serious but I actually am not. I don't know. It's kind of like how a bitch would give a fake complement, only mine should be interpreted as not an actual complement. "Oh, you know you are so trying that on."

Katara's faces morphed into one of complete mortification. "Oh, no! No, no, no! There is no way I would ever even consider putting this thing on!"

"Oh, Katara you have to. It's a rule. If you find a beautiful piece of fashion you must absolutely try it on," I stated simply to her. She furrowed her eyebrows as she thought for a moment before her face lit up as she got a perfect idea. I waited patiently as she searched through all of the clothes. I gulped as I thought of what she was doing, how bad was it going to be? Eh, it will probably be pretty bad. Although I couldn't see what she had found, I saw a devilish smirk appear on her face.

Katara looked up and caught my eye, "Ok, I'll try on that dress as long as you try on this one." Oh, the horror. It made me cringe. It was a wool-made dress, that I wasn't too sure was a dress because it looked like a tube and not any clothing. And just to make it worse it was a puke green color of all colors.

"Oh, that is nasty," I said with disgust, eyeing the 'thing'. I stared at it a while before deciding that I could do this. I would be brave and face this challenge. I gave a small smirk to Katara before shaking her hand, "You're on." I took the dress from her arms and went into one of the curtained off areas for changing, while she took her own dress and went into the other one. I quickly disregarded the clothes from my own world and slipped on the dress over my legs. I pulled it up and slipped my arms through the two holes that had been made on the side. It ended up looking like a very bad homemade replica of an outfit that someone had seen on the red carpet. Too bad that there were no mirrors so I couldn't see myself in it, or maybe that's a good thing. "You ready?" I called out. Katara gave a small yeah before I started, "On the count of three. One…Two…Three!"

We both quickly pulled back the curtain and stepped out. I looked at her dress for a few seconds before my eyes met hers. There were a few moments of silence. I would like to think of these as the moments of calm before a storm. Slowly our smiles became bigger and bigger. Then neither of us could hold it back any longer. Our laugher bounced off of the walls echoing all around us. We both were laughing so hard we were using each other as support. I rested my head on her shoulder as my stomach started cramping up. I felt tears well up in my eyes and the corners of my mouth were now hurting, but none the less, I kept on laughing as did Katara. I don't know how long we just stood there laughing at each other. Every time we had almost calm down we would back away from each other and once again see what we were wearing then the laugher would burst out again. I would almost stop laughing every once in a while, but then Katara would laugh and I couldn't help but burst out into laughter once again.

"Come on… we need to actually get things done, or else we're going to be here all night." The sun was now setting over the horizon and if we didn't get our butts moving we were going to be walking to our temporary home in the dark.

"Yeah," Katara said, letting out a sigh. "We should." I stood up from my place on the ground before grabbing Katara's hands and helping her up. "I'm going to go get changed out of this dress." I gave her nod before I turned around and seriously started looking for something that I could buy. I slowly walked around before I had made my way over to the back corner of the store. There was a nice short dress with capped sleeves. It was very oriental looking, like one of those dresses that were worn at New Year's. Only this one was light green decorated with a flower pattern with just the slightest hint of pink here and there. It was perfect. It even had slits up the sides so my legs wouldn't be constricted. I grabbed the dress as well as a pair of dark green leggings to go under it. I arrived back over by the dressing area to see Katara coming out of one of the rooms, now fully dressed in her normal clothes.

I held up the dress that I had found for her to see, "What to do you think?"

"It's nice," Katara said smiling.

"I'm going to try it on," I told her receiving a nod in return before I stepped into the dressing room again. As I slowly undressed in the silence I started thinking, "Katara?"

"Hm?" I heard her say behind the curtain wall.

"It's so cool that you can waterbend. I'm so jealous. I wish I could waterbend." I said making conversation as I dressed.

"Really? I guess it is pretty cool," there was a few moments of silence that filled the air as we sat in the room. "Although, it's not great all the time. Sometimes I feel like it's more trouble then what it's worth… like I'm pretty sure it's what got my mom killed." My breath stop and my body froze in its position. Wow. I never imagined that she would just come out and say that. "I just keep on thinking that maybe if I had been more careful maybe the fire nation would have never come to our village."

"You know it's not your fault right? You were so young; you probably couldn't control your bending even if you wanted to. Besides, if it's anyone's fault it's the fire nation's fault."

"Yeah, I know but still," the silence now in the air was thick and I had no clue as to what to say. I can barely function in a normal conversation. What was I supposed to say to make things all better? "This other time, I was out on the ice with my brother. I slipped and fell down on the ice, but I instinctively used my bending to try and catch myself. But in doing so I accidently cracked the ice. Sokka fell through the ice and almost drown. If it hadn't been for my dad he would have… I love being a waterbender, but sometimes it's not always a good thing."

We let the silence fall back over us before I broke it, "I guess everything has its price."

"Yeah," Katara said distantly. I let a sad smile grace my face before I pulled back the curtain now fully dressed in my new outfit.

"What do you think? Looks good?"

"Yeah, it looks great. Although I'm not quite sure if it beats out those other two dresses."

"I don't think anything could beat out those dresses," I said exasperatedly. We both laughed and just like that the tensions that had been there were gone. Grabbing a few pairs of undergarments, we paid for the clothes and headed to the place where we were staying.

.

Before I went to bed, I went to the small bathroom that they had set up in the building. It wasn't really a proper bathroom, like back in the regular world. But it had a basin of water and a place for taking care of business. Most importantly, it had a mirror. It was the first mirror that I had seen while being here. I looked at the green eyes that stared back at me. It was weird. I don't know how quite to describe it. I knew the person that I was seeing was me, but it didn't really look like how I was supposed to look. It looked like I was a drawing. My light brown hair flowed around my too pale skin that had been gained from not going outside in forever, although I was already starting to tan. Strangely enough, I really quite looked like Hungary from Hetalia. In fact, I bet if we stood right next to each other we would look at least like sisters. I reached up and traced my reflection on the mirror, maybe to see if this was really a mirror and not someone else standing before me. But my hand did not meet a face but rather a cold, smooth surface of a mirror. I wonder if I'll ever get used to seeing this reflection in the mirror. If I'll look into it and see what I expect to see because I've seen it so many times before. Maybe one day.

.  
I sat across from Katara and Aang at a wooden table in the morning. An assortment of pastries was strewn across the table ready to be eaten. Eating dessert for breakfast wasn't very healthy, but who needs to be healthy said the American. "All right! Dessert for breakfast!" Aang yelled out, obviously not caring about being healthy before stuffing his face full of food. "These people sure know how to treat an Avatar! Mmm... Katara you've got to try these!" I watched as Aang offered one of the sweets over to Katara. "Well, maybe just a bite..." Katara said not being able to resist the deliciousness of it all. While Aang was offering Katara the sweet, Momo took the opportunity to snatch the other pastry Aang holding causing me to chuckle at the little guy. Yum, they do look delicious. Thinking that food would be a good idea I grabbed one of the pastries sitting in front of me. I took a bite out of it and sweet goodness exploded in my mouth. "Sokka, what's your problem? Eat!" Aang called out to Sokka who was sitting in the corner pouting and being gloomy.

"Not hungry," Sokka replied in a very non-Sokka way.

Out of shock Aang stopped eating a turned to him, "But you're always hungry!"

"He's just upset because a bunch of girls kicked his butt yesterday," Katara said knowing what was upsetting her brother.

"They snuck up on me!" Sokka called out defending his actions.

Katara was not buying what he was saying smugly replied, "Right. And then they kicked your butt."

Sokka stood up with anger, shouting at us once again, "Sneak attacks don't count!" He paced around the room for a few seconds while wildly gesturing to the air. "Tie me up with ropes! I'll show them a thing or two. I'm not scared of any girls." I watched as Sokka ferociously grabbed different sweets off of the table. He began to lower his voice now talking to himself so I could barely hear what he was saying anymore, "Who do they think they are anyway?" He shoved a sweet into his mouth as he started leaving the room. "Mmm... this is tasty." Ah, at least, Sokka was still Sokka even if he was upset.

"What's he so angry about? It's great here. They're giving us the royal treatment," Aang continued on after Sokka had left the room.

"Hey, don't get too comfortable. It's risky for us to stay in one place for very long," Katara spoke trying to get some wisdom into Aang's head.

"I'm sure we'll be fine. Besides, did you see how happy I'm making this town?" Aang said brushing off Katara's comment as he turned around to look at the window. "They're even cleaning up that statue in my honor!"

"Well, it's nice to see you excited about being the Avatar. I just hope it doesn't all go to your head."

"Come on, you know me better than that. I'm just a simple monk," Aang said before going over to the window. I could faintly hear the screams and cheers of the young girls that were down in the courtyard below. Aang's face broke out in a blush with a smile accompanying it. Katara went and stood slightly behind him before she stuck out her tongue and made a raspberry at the actions happening.

"A simple monk you say," I said slightly laughing before standing up from the table. "Anyway, I'm going to go see if Suki would train me a bit, k?"

"No problem. See you later, Rachelle," Katara said as I started to leave.

"Bye Rachelle," Aang called before I waved behind me as I exited the room. The walk to the training hall where the Kyoshi warriors were at wasn't far, but I spent some time trying to find it. I know that I could have just asked someone where it was at and had been there faster, but why ask someone where I could just find it myself. Why go through the bother? I stood back from the open door a ways. I felt the nervous knots form in my stomach. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all? I mean do really need to learn any self-defense. I know that danger will be lurking around every corner and that I'm now technically apart of a war, but do I really need to fight. Can't I just leave that up to Aang and Katara and Sokka? I mean I know that they would manage fine without me so…I let out a sigh…I know. I have to do this. I can't just not because I'm scared of interacting with people. I took a gulp and pushed the feeling of uneasiness aside. Step by step I made my way up to the door where I would no longer be able to run away from asking for help. The shadow of the room fell upon me as I took the final step into the room where they would now be able to see me.

I watched as the warriors stopped what they were doing and started to stare at me. Suki stepped forward to talk to me, "Can I help you?"

"Um, yeah, I was just wondering if you would be willing to help me train some? Because I really don't have any fighting slash self-defense skills. Which before I didn't really feel like was a really big deal, but now that I'm traveling with the Avatar I feel that they might be slightly important. So yeah…" I ended my little spiel awkwardly.

There was a moment of silence where Suki was thinking. I watched her as she thought through what I had just said to her. A moment later she spoke to me, "Hm, well I suppose that we could help you out, but you have to follow all of our traditions."

"No problem. Thank you so much." I happily said with a smile gracing my features. I was fine with following their traditions, after all, they were the ones who were allowing me to be trained here. I was actually kind of excited to get all Kyoshi warrior-fied, and to wear makeup again, my face been feeling empty. A little while later my face was painted and I was wearing a traditional Kyoshi warrior outfit. The makeup, at first, felt strange, but now that I was used to the makeup, it didn't even feel like there was something on my face. The clothes were a little bit heavier than what you'd expect from a workout outfit but it didn't seem too unmanageable.

"You ready?" Suki asked me.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I had never felt very comfortable exercising in front of others. It's just not something that comes very natural to me, so I'm always worried that I'll look like an idiot doing something. But I just pushed aside the feeling and got ready to be trained.

"So how much do you already know?"

"Well… I took a self-defense class once… when I was about 10. Besides that, nothing really," I slowing said. "Sorry."

Suki let out a laugh, "It's fine. A blank canvas. Besides everyone has to start somewhere."

I chuckled as well, "I suppose so." And with that, we started to train. We went over some basic drills before she started to teach me some beginner defensive and offensive moves. I don't think that I did too terribly bad, but I definitely wasn't a natural. I think it would have gone much better if I actually had some muscles, but at last, no muscles. But trust me when I say that I'm going to have some more after this is over because my muscles have burned more today than they have in a lifetime. And you know what they say: if it burns, it's working.

We kept working non-stop until about noon when an interruption walked in. "Sorry ladies! Didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson," an arrogant voice called out interrupting the lesson. Suki and I lowered our hands to our sides as we look over at the intruder. There stood Sokka doing some sort of stretches. "I was just looking for somewhere to get a little workout?"

"Well, you're in the right place," Suki said walking up to him. "Sorry about yesterday. I didn't know that you were friends with the Avatar."

While though Suki was being nice and trying to make peace between the two of them, Sokka seemed to have other ideas and opened up his mouth, letting offensive crap just roll out of it, "It's all right. I mean, normally I'd hold a grudge, but seeing as you guys are a bunch of girls, I'll make an exception."

"I should hope so. A big strong man like you? We wouldn't stand a chance," Suki said sarcastically back to him, no longer feeling the need to apologize for her actions earlier.

"True. But don't feel bad. After all, I'm the best warrior in my village"

"Not to mention the only," I said softly to the rest of the girls. "I mean unless you count the 5-year-olds." I giggled slightly as did the rest of the girls at the cost of Sokka. He shot me an angry glare, but I wasn't really bothered by his actions.

Suki drew Sokka's attention back by talking again, "Wow! Best warrior, huh? In your whole village? Maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a little demonstration."

"Oh... well... I mean... I..." Sokka stuttered out nervously. His eyes caught mine screaming in panic that he needed my help. I lifted my eyebrows slightly telling him that he was on his own for this one.

"Come on, girls! Wouldn't you like him to show us some moves?" Suki continued getting the support of her girls. The girls giggled and nodded in agreement.

"Well, if that's what you want, I'd be happy to. All right, you stand over there." I watched as Sokka grasped Suki's shoulders and pushed her back a little, but Suki ended up not moving at all. Sokka continued on, though, not being bothered by this, "This may be a little tough, but try to block me." Sokka threw a punch at Suki but she blocked it with a thrust of her fan to his shoulder. Sokka rubbed his shoulder from where the fan had hit him, "Heh heh... good. Of course, I was going easy on you."

"Of course."

"Let's see if you can handle this!" Sokka lunged forward at Suki. She caught him under his leg before tossing him backwards towards the door. A thump was heard as Sokka landed on his butt.  
"That does it!" Sokka yelled, fed up with losing against Suki. He lunged forward once again only to have Suki grab him by his arm before she spun him around in circles. Suki then took his belt to tie his arm to his foot and then threw him on the ground.

Suki walked over so she was standing over Sokka before laughing, "Anything else you want to teach us?" The rest of the warriors laughed at him, and I'll admit I laughed a bit as well. After I got the chuckle out of my system, I knelt down to Sokka and untied his arm from his foot. I grabbed his hand and helped him stand up. As soon as Sokka was on his feet he shoved my hands off of him before he roughly grabbed his belt back from me. He angrily glared at me for a second before he rushed back outside. My mouth dropped open out of the shock of what had just happened. Had Sokka really just done that? Was he really that upset? I mean, I know that it was a little mean to do that to him, but he was just getting what he deserved after making all of those comments. Even so, I guess I should have at least tried to have been on Sokka's side of the whole ordeal. I guess I should go apologize.

"Hey, Suki," I called out getting her attention. "I'm going to go make sure that he's ok."

"That's ok. You deserve a break anyway. You've been working really hard," Suki said giving me a smile. I returned the gesture before making my way outside.

Luckily, Sokka hadn't wandered off too far and was just outside of the building. I watched as he kicked a stone into the air letting out a deep sigh before falling down onto the ground. I quietly walked up behind him and took a seat on the ground next to him. "Hey."

"What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be inside with warrior buddies?" A grumpy grumble came from the boy next to me.

"Aw, Sokka, you know there's no place I'd rather be than here with you," I tried to joke with him.

Sokka let out a small snort in reply, "You could have fooled me."

I let out a sigh in response as I tore at the grass, "Look. I'm sorry that I was kind of rude back there. But it was just nice seeing you get put in your place after you had said all of those things about women not being able to be strong. Because I wanted you to see that women can be strong and they can fight just as well as men. Which was hopefully made clear by Suki."

"She definitely got her message across. But it's not even just that. You haven't seemed to like me much even from the start."

"What? Really?" Had I really been that distant and mean? I mean, I know that I may have messed with Sokka a bit, but that was only because I thought that he could take my sense of humor. Me joking around with him was me showing him that I liked him. Sokka's amazing. How could you not love him? "You thought I didn't like you. That's ridiculous. Of course, I like you Sokka. I'm sorry if it didn't seem that way."

Sokka stared at me as if I had just said something outrageously false, "But you were always saying those rude things."

"No, no, no, that's me being me. Around strangers I'm nice and polite, I just don't feel comfortable being completely myself. But when I feel comfortable around someone I open and be more me. I'm sorry if it seemed like I was being rude, but I was just joking. I didn't mean for you feel like I actually meant the things I said. Being jokingly rude is just the way I show affection. But I would never say something that would actually hurt the person."

"Ha ha ha, that's great. And here I thought you hated me."

I laughed at Sokka, "If it makes you feel better Sokka, you're definitely a better warrior than me. Hey, maybe one day you could even give a few tips on how to be a better warrior."

"Well, it would be a great honor for you to have that knowledge. And since now I know that you don't hate me, I suppose that I could allow you to have this once in a lifetime opportunity. But you have to follow my every order no matter how ridiculous it seems…and you have to call Sifu Sokka."

"Yes. Of course, wise Sifu Sokka," I joked as I did a small bow, or, at least, the best I could sitting down on the ground. "Come on," I said standing up from my position on the ground, "I think that you owe Suki an apology."

Sokka sighed from his spot on the ground, "I suppose you're right." He stood up from the ground and started walking over to the doorway but stopped right before he went in.

I nudged him with my shoulder, "Come on. They're not gonna bite you… Probably."

Sokka turned towards me and gave a firm nod. I smiled at him before he finished going inside of the building. I watched as Sokka hesitantly started talking to Suki, "Uh... hey, Suki."

"Hoping for another dance lesson?" Suki mocked him for his action earlier.

"No... I... well, let me explain," Sokka tried to get the words out of his mouth.

"Spit it out! What do you want?

I watched as Sokka got down on his knees to kneel in humility, "I would be honored if you would teach me." In my imagination, I wiped a tear out from under my eye. They just grow up so fast, don't they? One moment they're making rude comments and the next they're turning into a mature, responsible adult.

"Even if I'm a girl?" Suki questioned him.

Sokka quietly replied, "I'm sorry if I insulted you earlier. I was wrong."

"We normally don't teach outsiders, let alone boys."

"Please make an exception. I won't let you down."

"What do you think Rachelle? Should he be allowed to train with us?" Suki turned to me to get my opinion on the matter.

"Hm, well…" I said with my index on my chin as if I wasn't sure of my answer. Out of the corner of my eye, I see that Sokka had a flash of panic when I didn't answer straight away. I decided that I had tortured him enough and let a smile appear on my face. I laid my hand on his shoulder as I spoke, "I think that Sokka will live up to any expectation that you put on him."

"All right. But you have to follow all of our traditions," Suki told Sokka.

Sokka quickly replied, "Of course!"

"And I mean ALL of them," Suki finished up.

A little while later I sat on a chair finishing up a bowl of tasty rice. I watched as Sokka finished getting ready in the traditional Kyoshi Warrior dress and makeup.

"Do I really have to wear this? It feels a little... girly," Sokka said not sure if this was something that he really wanted to do.

"I think you look fabulous Sokka," I teased the boy with a smirk on my face. Sokka shot me the look of despair that he had on his face due to the situation which he had gotten himself into.

Suki continued on, "It's a warrior's uniform. You should be proud. The silk threads symbolize the brave blood that flows through our veins. The gold insignia represents the honor of the warrior's heart."

At Suki's words, Sokka stood up, now proud to be wearing the uniform, "Bravery and honor."

Just a Sokka said this Aang walked past the door before he turned and ducked his head into the room. "Hey, Sokka! Nice dress!" Aang called crushing the confidence that Sokka had gained by Suki's little speech. Eventually, Sokka got over the fact that what he was wearing wasn't exactly what he would prefer and we got down to business.

By this time, I had finished with my lunch and was working on some stuff with one of the other girls. I was sparring with the girl who was clearly better than me, but I kept trying my best. After a while, however, I got annoyed. It seemed that every time I would attack she would just block and then attack me back, which of course I was still dazed from my initial attack so then I wouldn't even try blocking so she would hit me then tell me to focus. I felt as if my whole body was a bruise.

"Come on. You have to keep moving on. You can't get focused in the past. Now try again," the girl yelled at me. I let out an annoyed sigh, but I got back into the stance that Suki had taught me earlier that day and got ready to go again. While though it may have at first felt like I was just failing. Epically. I think that I had actually gotten better. Even if just slightly. Maybe I might actually stand a chance to last at least 10 seconds in a fight. Which was 10 seconds longer than before. "Well, you still have a ways to go, but at least, you're getting better," the warrior told me with a smile. "Do you want to move on to doing fan stuff?" The warrior went and got a pair of fans for me and we started working. She taught me the best way to hold them and then the stances that you go through when using them. This was much easier for me and I picked it up fairly quick. It was just like dancing. We were just about ready to start on fighting with the fans when a thump came from across the room. We turned our heads to see Suki sitting on the floor with a smug looking Sokka standing nearby. Suki quickly got up onto her feet before she shouted out, "I fell on purpose to make you feel better!"

Sokka laughed in success, "I got you! Admit I got you!"

Suki started to laugh as well before she grabbed Sokka's hand and bent in back, "Okay, it was a lucky shot. Let's see if you can do it again." They got back into positions signaling that their commotion was done. I turned back to the warrior that was helping me and we started fighting with the fans. We continued to spar until an interruption came from the door.

"Firebenders have landed on our shores! Girls, come quickly!" The man called from the doorway alerting us of what was going on. I followed Suki as she quickly rushed out the door and into the village.

I leaned against a side of one of the buildings where Suki had designated for me to stand. I waited quietly as I listened for the moment where I would come out and strike. I felt my heart beat inside my chest so hard I thought that it might explode at any moment. I felt like I was in a video game, where I was pressed up against a wall, hiding from the enemy. But I wasn't in a video game. This was real. And I was really about to jump out and attack someone, who would then try to attack me back. Oh my gosh. What had I gotten myself into?

"Come out, Avatar! You can't hide from me forever!" Zuko shouted loud for everybody to hear. Oh gosh. This was it. I came out from where I had been hiding. I maneuvered my way around Zuko's men that the other girls were taking care of. As I came out I saw Suki jump to attack Zuko. Zuko turned his Rhino so that she was swatted out of the air by its tail. Sokka started to run forward to help Suki. This is where I came in. I would do the fan throwy thing so that it would hit Zuko in the head. I got into the starting position and took a gulp. I tried hard to stop myself from shaking but my hands were still not completely still.

I don't think I had ever felt this young. I felt like a child in an adult's world. I let my eyes close for a second. It now or never. I went through the motions that I had been taught just earlier today. A systematic order. Just like dancing. I controlled my breath as I came closer to releasing the fan. Then with the last step, I let it fly through the air, praying to God that I was on target. I held my breath for a moment as I watched the fan fly through the air. Then a ting sounded through the air as the fan hit Zuko's helmet. My throw didn't knock Zuko off like it was supposed to, but it did disorientate him long enough for another warrior to come down and knock him off.

As Sokka, Suki and another warrior approached Zuko to finish him off, I ran over to pick up my fan which was now lying on the ground. I turned back around in time to see Sokka being knocked out by Zuko. Every part of my body was telling me to run. To run and hide to never see the daylight again, but I knew that I had to go walk up to him… and stop him. Simple as that. No biggie. My hands tighten around my fans as I stepped forward into Zuko's view, "Nice ponytail." Zuko's scrawl deepened before he shot fire at me. I dodged right, as to not get singed. Ok. I forgot about the fire. Oh gosh. What if I ended up one big burnt crisp? Not really knowing what else to do, I just threw my fan at him hoping it would hurt. It hit him right on the forehead. His eyes closed for a second before they opened back up with flames spitting out at his fist. Ok, so maybe that just pissed him off more than anything.

He quickly kicked my feet out from under me leaving me rolled up against a porch. Gritting my teeth, I opened up my eyes enough to see him walking away. I watched as he stopped to pick something up before he turned around and looked me in the eyes. My eyes opened wide as my heart stopped beating. I closed my eyes because I couldn't bear to see what would happen next. Then suddenly something hit my forehead. Pain shot through my head as my hand reached up rubbed where I had been hit. Slowly as the pain started to dull, I opened my eyes to see the object in my lap that had been thrown at my forehead. It was my fan. Zuko had thrown my fan at my forehead because that's what I did to him. Twice. If I wasn't in so much pain I would have laughed.

"Are you ok?" Sokka said softly crouching down next to me.

"Yeah. I think so. Just a little tinder," I said still rubbing my forehead.

"Good. Come on." Sokka stood up before offering me his hand. I grabbed his hand before I stood up from the ground. I followed Sokka as he went behind the house that we had been fighting in front of.

When we arrived behind the house, I saw Suki there hiding, "Rachelle! Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. A little bruised, but nothing that I can't live with," I responded.

"Good," She said. "You guys have to get out of here."

"What about your uniforms and fans? Is it ok if we just keep them?" I responded in a hushed tone.

"Yeah, that's fine just think of it as a goodbye gift. Now. You guys have to GO."

I stood up to my full height and looked down on Sokka to see if he was coming. "Go on ahead, Rachelle. I wanted to say something to Suki," Sokka told me. I gave him a nodded before I came out from behind the house and onto the main road where I could see Aang and Katara already on Appa. I quickly ran up Appa's tail and sat down beside Katara.

"Where's Sokka?" Katara called out.

"He's talking with Suki. He should be here any moment." And as if Sokka could hear me talking, he came out from behind the house and ran up Appa's tail to take a seat next to us. As soon as Sokka was on the saddle, Aang called out to Appa getting him to take off in flight. I looked out over the village as we started to fly off in the distance. Houses were on fire and smoke continued to rise up into the air.

"I know it's hard, but you did the right thing. Zuko would have destroyed the whole place if we had stayed. They're going to be okay, Aang," Katara said trying to comfort the boy with all the stuff that had happened. Suddenly without saying anything Aang jumped off of Appa's head into the bay below. Katara cried out to Aang, "What are you doing?!"

The three of us watched in horror as he disappeared under the surface. Aang reappeared several seconds later before the unagi shot up out of the water with Aang riding on top. Using the whiskers, Aang managed to get the unagi to stream water out over the whole village putting out the fires that were raging, now the fires were put out and the smoke had stopped rising into the air. The unagi threw Aang up into the air where Appa swooped down and caught Aang in his paws. Moments later Aang climbed back up into the saddle with the rest of us.

**"**I know, I know. That was stupid and dangerous," Aang said trying to calm down the raging Katara he expected to find waiting for him.

"Yes, it was," Katara replied before hugging the boy. I smiled at the both of them before looking back at the village as it grew tinier and tinier. I used the sleeve of the uniform to slowly wipe off the remaining bits of makeup that still were on my face. In the port, I could vaguely see a ship setting off in the distance. Until next time, Zuko, until next time.

* * *

It's a Christmas miracle.

Ok, Ok. I'm so, so, so, so sorry that I haven't posted in forever. This chapter was just so difficult. First, I found this chapter to be super hard to write. Plus I was experiencing major writers block. I felt like I would get past one part I was struggling with just to run into another. Second, I have just been so busy with school. I'm part of the International baccalaureate program at school, which is a super rigorous program. Plus I'm part of a whole bunch of Drama stuff. I had a major role in my school musical so I was also doing stuff for that. Third, just laziness. By the time that I get done with all my homework all I want to do is just lay back and do nothing. And the longer I go without writing the more I forget how much I love writing and just bleh. Anyway, those are my reasons if you care to listen. Once again I am so extremely sorry. And I wish I had more to show for the time that I was gone. Even though this chapter was long.

Anyway, on with the story. Even though this chapter was a pain in the butt to write, I ended up really liking it. Some bonding between with the siblings happened which I liked. Is it just me or did you feel like Rachelle was being really mean to Sokka? I felt like she was so I kinda just wanted to have her be like 'hey Sokka. Don't worry. I do like you.' And so anyway I hoped you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks to all of you who faved, followed, or left a review. Please leave a review if you have any comments, question, things you liked, things you didn't like, things you would like to see, things that could be improved, any suggestions. Just leave a review or pm me. So hopefully the next chapter will not take half a year. I would like to at least get another chapter out during Christmas break, so be looking out for it. Thanks. And have a merry Christmas,or any other holiday that you may be celebrating.


	5. The King of Omashu

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar the last Airbender

* * *

"It's not funny, Sokka," I whined at the boy as my hand rested on my forehead, hiding the skin underneath.

"You have giant purple bruise covering your forehead. How is that not funny?"

My eyes glared at him as my mouth turned down into a frown, "Because I'm in misery! I think I might just die." I gasped dramatically as I threw my other hand up as if I was going to faint. Both Sokka and I started laughing as we joked around. We were now on our way to Omashu and all of us were ready to be there.

Katara turned around from her spot in front of us, "No, but in all seriousness. Are you sure it's fine because it doesn't look very good." She stared at the spot where the bruise was on my now uncovered forehead. I glanced upward at my forehead even though it was pointless due to the fact that I couldn't see it. On my forehead, I had acquired a purple bruise that was about two inches in diameter. This bruise was given to me as a lovely present of the prince of the fire nation. Isn't he so kind? While I had to admit that it really didn't look nice, it didn't really hurt all that bad.

"Yeah, it's fine. Just a little tender," I said being serious about it. "Although, it is kind of embarrassing walking around with a giant bruise on your head."

"Tell me about it. I feel like I can't even show my face with you around," Sokka nonchalantly stated. I elbowed him in the stomach just hard enough for him to go oof. "But hey," he replied to my action while wrapping an arm around my shoulder with the other one free gesturing to what he was saying. "Don't worry, even if we get mocked by everyone for having a friend with a purple forehead, we won't leave you behind."

"Thanks, Sokka. I know I can always count on you," I stated with sarcasm dripping off of it. I gave him a blank stare for a few seconds before I raised my eyebrows. Sokka burst out into laughter with me quickly following in suit. Slowly we fell back into silence as we came over the top of a hill. Finally, we saw a city come into view that was unlike any other I had ever seen before.

"The Earth Kingdom city of Omashu!" Aang shouted to the group. "I used to always come here to visit my friend, Bumi."

"Wow. We don't have cities like this in the South Pole," Katara said in awe as she looked out in the distance. I have to say I agree. It was definitely like nothing I've seen before. Although I don't know if it beats out skyscrapers, even though I had never seen one, I knew that it took a lot more to build one of those than a city like this one. Not the city was bad, just different.

"They have buildings here that don't melt!" Sokka shouted in amazement.

"You know Sokka," I started slowly. "There were buildings on Kyoshi Island. And those also did not melt."

"You know what I meant. I mean look at it!" Sokka shouted still in awe.

Aang called up to us getting impatient of standing here talking, "Well, let's go slow pokes! The real fun is inside the city!" Aang launched himself up into the air, landing farther down the hill.

But before Aang got very far Katara called out stopping him once again, "Wait, Aang! It could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar."

"You need a disguise," Sokka continued with his sister's concern.

"So, what am I supposed to do? Grow a mustache?" Aang asked jokingly.

"Well," I started as I rubbed my chin thinking. "You never know." A few moments later, with some crafty costume design, Aang was wearing a huge fake head of hair and a big bushy mustache made out of some of Appa's hair. He looked pretty fabulous if I do say so myself. I almost thought about making myself a headband to cover my own forehead, but after thinking about whether I would look more ridiculous with bison hair or a bruise on my forehead I decided I'll just stick with the bruise.

"Ohh, this is so itchy!" Aang said scratching the top of his head. Yup, definitely glad I did not make myself a headband. He turned to Appa and started talking again, "How do you live in this stuff?" Appa let out a grunt in response to Aang.

"Great! Now you look just like my grandfather," Sokka said looking at the completion of transforming Aang.

Going along with what her brother had stated, Katara joked, "Technically, Aang is 112 years old."

Aang picked up his staff before he started using it as a cane. Aang spoke up in a fake, old man's voice, "Now let's get to skippin', young whippersnappers! The big city awaits." As Aang began to walk forward, the rest of us slowly started following behind. "You guys are gonna love Omashu. The people here are the friendliest in the world."

"Rotten cabbages! What kind of slum do you think this is?" A rough voice broke through the air stopping the four of us. We looked forward, seeing some guards talking to a merchant. More specifically, a cabbage merchant. Oh my gosh. It is him. The Cabbage man. Oh, how glorious this moment is. In all my life, this may just be the most magnificent of them all. Ok, so maybe that's a little bit dramatic, but it still is cool. Because how could you not love the shout of 'My cabbages!' every now and then. One of the guards held up a head of cabbage before crushing it in his palm. Then, with some earthbending, he knocked the rest of the cabbages over the side of the road down to the valley below.

"Noo! My cabbages!" The Cabbage man cried out to the universe.

I tried to keep it inside. But… But it was just too much. I let the laughter escape my lips. I covered my mouth to silence the sound, but the small laughs could still be heard. "My cabbages!" I quietly screamed imitating the cabbage man. I continued to quietly laugh ignoring the strange looks the group was giving me.

"Are you alright?" Katara asked, very concerned by my actions.

"Oh, I'm ok. It's ok. You don't understand, but that's so hilarious." I said back finally starting to regain control of myself.

Katara let out a small giggle at my actions, "If you say so."

"Just keep smiling..." Aang said as we started to make our way forward to the guards. While though my action had levitated some of the tensions away, we were still wary about interacting with the same man who had just obliterated the cart.

As we reached the guard, a huge boulder was earth bent up from the ground to hang over Aang's head, "State your business!"

Aang, doing the only logical thing to do in a situation like this, rushed forward to accusingly point his finger at the guard before yelling at the man, "My business is my business, young man, and none of yours! I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!"

The guard dropped the stone in surprise while the rest of us just stood there mortified by Aang's outrageous actions. "Settle down, old timer. Just tell me who you are," the guard said, seeming not too bothered by Aang action, but rather just a little annoyed.

"Name's Bonzu Pipinpadaloxicopolis, the Third, and these are my grandkids," Aang continued. That last name, though. It was quite a mouthful.

Katara stepped forward smiling politely, "Hi, June Pipinpadaloxicopolis. Nice to meet you."

"And I'm Song," I continuing the introductions. Wasn't that girl that Zuko met named Song? I'm pretty sure, so it should be an ok name.

The Guard pondered for a moment before he spoke up to Katara and me, "You two seem like responsible young ladies. See that your grandfather stays out of trouble. Enjoy Omashu!"

"We will," Katara said with a smile as the guard motioned for us to pass.

The four of us walked forward towards the entrance of the city, but were suddenly stopped by the guard shouting out again, "Wait a minute!" He grabbed Sokka by the shoulder, getting him to pay attention to what he was saying. "You're a strong young boy. Show some respect for the elderly and carry your grandfather's bag."

"Good idea!" Aang quickly agreed, gung-ho about the idea of not having to carry his own stuff. I turned away from the boys to look at the rock gates which were now being open. And let me tell you, it was a sight to see. One by one each layer of the wall pulled back before the inside of the city started to show. We walked forward, entering the city. We went up and stood up against a railing, taking a moment just to look at the whole layout of the city. Wow, I really wish I had brought my camera to this world because this sight just needed to be captured. There was just so much beauty, so much different than what I've ever been able to see. But then again, everything here is sort of something I have never even dream of being able to actually see.

"This is the Omashu delivery system," Aang started to explain the different activities that were going on in the city. "Miles and miles of tubes and chutes. Earthbending brings the packages up and gravity brings them down."

"Great, so they get their mail on time," Sokka responded rather unimpressed by Aang's informative speech.

"They do get their mail on time, but my friend Bumi found a better use for these chutes..." A mischievous grin appeared on Aang's face before the three of us were following him up to the top of the city. When stopped, we were relatively far up. I looked down over the side of the hill. It was a good thing I wasn't afraid of heights, because if I was I would probably faint from the height at which we stood. Following Aang's lead, we all got settled into one of the transport bins, how we all fit in there was amazing but it definitely was a tight squeeze. We sat there as the bin teetered on the edge of the ledge, hanging on a thin line of staying still and plummeting to the ground. I could feel my stomach twist with nerves, but I was also kind of excited. It's just like a roller coaster, only much more dangerous. But eh, safety was for whips. Which looking over the side of this bin thing, may have been me. "One ride, then we're off to the North Pole, Airbender's honor."

"This sounded like fun at first, but now that I'm here, I'm starting to have second thoughts!" Katara said starting to become wary of the idea.

"My thoughts exactly," the words barely escaped my lips before the bin dropped from its stable position into the chute below. From the sudden drop, I let out a scream which quickly turned to a laugh, a panicked laugh but a laugh none the less. With my fingers tightly gripping the side of the bin, we started to come up to an intersection. The only problem was that, at this intersection, there also happened to be another bid coming towards it with a rack of spears. As our paths merged, we all started to scream before one by one ducked down as to not become a human kabob.

"I'm on it! I'm on it!" Aang said in response to the distressing noises that we were making. Aang started to rock the bin back and forth in the chute until he had enough momentum to derail the bin from the chute. We now fell onto the rooftop below, which was just great because who needed the safety of a guide track, not when you could just make your own path. I let out a scream-laugh of some sort in terror. We continued to fall to the ground before landing in front of a group of soldiers. A moment after we touched the ground, Aang grabbed a hold of the bin before he tried to lift us back up into the air, successfully kicking me in the face while doing so. We were then jolted forward as we hit the railing of a chute deposit before we quickly slid back onto another chute, rocketing down once again in somewhat a decent safety. And I use that very lightly.

"Aang, do something! Use your airbending!" Katara called out from behind me trying to save our lives.

Aang however, who seemed to be enjoying the absolute terror of this ride, misinterpreted the meaning of what she had said quickly replying, "Yeh! Good idea! That'll make us go even faster!" Aang sent a blast of air backwards that let us speed down the chute at an even faster speed. But with the safety of the chute around us, I actually started to find this fun once again, or at least until we reached the bottom of this slope and saw that we were gliding towards another bin full of items. Our screams filled the air as we were sure our doom would be coming shortly, but the earthbender moved the package out of our way. We all let out a sigh of relief, which only last a few seconds before we started screaming again. A new package had been bent up leaving it on a direct collision course with us. As we hit the package, the force sent us flying up into the air leaving us out of the little safety that the bin had provided. I floated through the air for a few seconds before a force drawled me back to the bin. Now back in the bin the four of us landed on a roof continuing our journey downward. We crashed into a room, breaking something that sounded like pots before we left through the window, leaving the occupants in confusion.

"Sorry!" Aang called out behind us somehow through all the chaos. We flew through another room before speeding out onto the balcony. There were wooden planks lined up against the railing, but when we hit them instead of gliding upwards like what was hoped, we crashed through the side and dropped straight down to the ground. A few moments later our crazy journey stopped as we hit a stand of some sorts before crashing to the ground in a pile. My butt laid up in the air as I draped over Katara with Aang lying on top of me. After the ordeal of what we just went through, my whole body was throwing a protest of pain. A voice resonated threw the air, "My cabbages! You're gonna pay for this!" And somehow through all the pain and terror, it still managed to be funny.

.

We walked through the long, green hallway that led up to where the king was sitting. And when I say green I mean it. It was so extremely green it was almost dizzying to look at. As we slowly finished our approach towards the authority sitting at the end of the room, we stopped and waited to see what would happen. We stood there in front of a crazy looking man, who was, of course, Bumi, before he started to talk, "Mmm?"

The guard that had been escorting us stepped forward and began to speak with Bumi, "Your majesty, these juveniles were arrested for vandalism, traveling under false pretenses and malicious destruction of cabbages."

"Off with their heads! One for each head of cabbage!" The cabbage man angrily shouted at the king, outraged by the destruction of his precious cabbages.

"Silence! Only the King can pass down judgment. What is your judgment, Sire?" The guard stopped his rude interruption before turning back to the king to see what his ruling would be. Bumi looked around at us, surveying us before he made his judgment. Copying what Bumi was doing I looked around at my companions to see what they were doing. Sokka looked nervous, Katara looked hopeful, Aang looked like he was trying to make himself disappear, and I think I just looked like a lost little kid in a market.

"Throw them..." Bumi started off slowly. "A feast!" The sound of surprise echoed in the room as the occupants heard. The four of us turned around and looked at each other in the confusion of what he had just said. I shrugged my shoulders at them. What can you do?

Not long after, I was sitting between Sokka and Aang with an assortment of food laid out in front of us. And being completely honest it looked absolutely delicious. I felt like I hadn't had a decent meal in forever. It was absolutely mouthwatering. King Bumi stood behind us at our seats by the table as he began to talk to us, "Heheh! The people in my city have gotten fat from too many feasts, so I hope you like your chicken with no skin." Oh, trust me. I do not mind. I just want my chicken, thank you very much.

"Thanks, but I don't eat meat," Aang said turning down the offer of the food. That's ok, I will respect Aang's life decisions, even if I do not agree. Well, I don't think I would be a very good vegetarian. Mostly just because I'm a really picky eater and don't eat many foods. So I have to eat what I like, and I like chicken.

King Bumi now turned to Sokka asking the boy, "How about you? I bet you like meat." He then stuck what had once been Aang's chicken leg into Sokka's mouth.

Sokka did not have the same moral obligation that Aang had and started to chow down on the meat, "Mmm!"

Katara turned us and quietly talked as Bumi started to walk to his seat on the other side of the table, "Is it just me, or is this guy's crown a little crooked?" Now that Bumi wasn't looming over my back, I finally felt like I could eat and started digging into the meal that had been laid out in front of me. Yum. I missed the taste of good food. It reminded me of home. I miss 21st-century food.

"So, tell me young bald one. Where are you from?" Bumi questioned from his side of the table.

Aang replied back to him, "I'm from... Kangaroo Island."

"Oh, Kangaroo Island, eh? I hear that place is really hoppin!" I felt a smile form on my lips at the joke. It was so terrible, and yet that's what made it so good. Sokka burst out in laughter with me quickly following behind him. We slowly stopped as the other two look at us as if we were some foreign creature.

"What? It was pretty funny," Sokka stated simply.

"It was," I agreed with Sokka.

Bumi let out a yawn stopping our conversation from progressing, "Well, all these good jokes are making me tired. Guess it's time to the hay." It's funny how he says that even though we've been sitting down at this table for maybe three minutes. We were eating. Who eats in three minutes? Nobody. And ok, yes. I know that Bumi knows about Aang and everything, but before going all mean guy he could have at least let us eat. My line of thought was interrupted when Bumi threw a chicken leg at Aang. Aang, not wanting to get hit in the face with the meat, airbended it to a standstill. "There's an airbender in our presence and not just any airbender, the Avatar!" Bumi stood up while Aang dropped the meat and tried to act like he had not just given himself away. "Now what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Pipinpadaloxicopolis?"

Aang stood up from his spot at the table and threw his hands up into the air in defeat, "Okay! You caught me. I'm the Avatar, doing my Avatar thing, keeping the world safe. Everything checks out." I scooched to the back of my chair as Aang lifted up the table cloth to look under the table. "No firebenders here. So, good work everybody." Aang wrapped his arms around us pulling us together as we stood up. "Love each other, respect all life and don't run with your spears. We'll see you next time!" We started to back up towards the door with giant, happy smiles on our faces like we did nothing wrong. Unfortunately, the guards stop us from exiting the room.

"You can't keep us here. Let us leave," Katara yelled at the crazy man, tired of dealing with him.

"Lettuce leaf?" King Bumi said in response. He picked up a lettuce leaf from the plate in front of him before taking a bite of it. I don't know why, but this line always stuck into my head. Whenever someone would say let us leave all I would think about was 'lettuce leaf?' I just find it so funny.

The other three, however, didn't really see it as something funny. Instead, they just thought he was crazy, which he is but that doesn't change anything. Sokka quietly whispered to the rest of us, "We're in serious trouble. This guy is nuts."

Changing his tone completely from before, Bumi solemnly said, "Tomorrow the Avatar will face three deadly challenges. But for now, the guards will show you to your chamber."

"My liege, do you mean the good chamber or the bad chamber?" The guard of the King questioned.

"The newly refurbished chamber."

'Wait, which one are we talking about?"

"The one that used to be the bad chamber, until the recent refurbishing that is. Of course, we've been calling it the new chamber, but we really should number them. Uh, take them to the refurbished chamber that was once bad!" Now that Bumi had cleared the confusion of which chamber we were going to, we were escorted to what would be our room for the night. We walked into the room before the entrance was closed by earthbending, allowing for no possible escape.

"This is a prison cell? But it's so nice," Katara said taking in the surroundings. I slowly turned in circles as looked at the room at where we had been placed. The camber was nice, spacious and furnished with four comfortable beds.

"He did say it was newly refurbished," Aang said looking on the bright side.

Sokka though, being the ever optimistic, replied, "Nice or not, we're still prisoners."

"Do always have to be so negative, Sokka," I said sitting down on one of the beds. "Besides, it could be a lot worse." I wondered what an actual prison would feel like. Well, hopefully, I would never have to find out.

"I'm not being negative. I'm just stating the facts." Sokka stated plainly.

"I wonder what these challenges are gonna be," Aang said changing the subject.

"We're not sticking around to find out. There's gotta be some way outta here," Katara said putting on her thinking face.

After a few moments, Aang smiled and pointed over to a small hole near the ceiling of the room,  
"The air vents!"

"If you think we're gonna fit through there then you're crazier than that king," Sokka said shooting down Aang's idea.

"We can't, but Momo can," Aang finished up his idea. The four of us shift our view over to the lemur who was sprawled out on one of the bed eat on apple. Aang walked over to Momo's side and started talking to the creature, "Momo, I need you to find Appa and bust us outta here!" I watched with a small smile of pity for the poor creature from my seat on the bed while Aang picked him and started shoving him into the vent. "Go on, boy, get Appa!" Aang said still trying to somehow get Momo to fit.

"Aang," I called out to the boy. "I don't think it's going to work." Aang stepped back from the wall, letting his shoulders fall out of defeat.

"Eh, how was Appa supposed to save us anyway?" Sokka said trying to comfort the boy in his failed plan.

Aang replied with the only logical explanation, "Appa is a ten-ton flying bison; I think he could figure something out."

"Well, no point in arguing about it now," Katara said as she got into her bed. "Get some rest, Aang. Looks like you'll need it for tomorrow." I watched Aang as he dejectedly walked over the unoccupied bed. As his eye caught mine, I gave him a small smile. He returned the gesture before he got into his bed to rest for the night.

Deciding that it was now time for the day to be over, I closed my eyes and tried to let the sleep take me over. The key word being tried. In the silent room of the night, I looked up at the ceiling unable to fall asleep. I don't know why I was unable to, but all I seemed able to do was just toss and turn in the bed. As what seemed like hours passed by I eventually heard a rustle next to me. I looked over at where Aang was sleeping to see him sitting upright in his bed. "Can't sleep?" I whisper to him, being sure my voice didn't wake Katara or Sokka. A sheepish grin appeared on Aang's face as he shook his head yes. I crossed my legs before I patted the area beside me with my hand. Aang complied, slipping off of bed before taking a seat next to me. "Want to talk about what's keeping you up?"

"It's nothing. I think I'm just nervous about tomorrow," Aang started. "What if I mess up and then we're all stuck here forever?"

"Aang, I truly don't think you're going to mess up. And even if you did, I don't think that the king will keep us here forever."

"What? Really. But he's so crazy. You don't think he's going to keep under lock and key forever."

I laughed at the boy's worries, "No, just because he's crazy doesn't mean he's necessarily bad."

"Hm, I suppose that's true," As Aang finished talking we let the silence fall over us once again. It wasn't awkward per se; it was just a calm silence. It abruptly ended when Aang started talking again, "Do you ever get afraid, Rachelle?"

"Of course," I replied simply. "I was afraid when I was in the South Pole, that I was going to be lost forever. I was afraid when I faced Zuko at Kyoshi Island. I was for sure I was going to become a burnt crisp." I looked over at Aang, trying to make out what his face was saying in the dark. Aang had his eyebrows furrowed deep as he stared at the floor as if he was hoping it would tell him the answers to all his problems. "Look. I'm going to tell something a wonderful man once told me. It's ok to be afraid." Aang looked at me with shock in his eyes. "When you're afraid your heart beats so fast it feels like it's just going beat out of your chest. Well, that's because it's pumping so much blood and oxygen all around your body to get you ready to fight. Fear makes you faster, and stronger, and cleverer. Being afraid is a superpower. So it's ok to be afraid." I gave Aang a smile as finished up my little speech.

"Thanks," Aang said softly.

"It's nothing," the silence fell upon us once again. I thought about what I had told Aang. It was something the Doctor had said to young Danny. It was one of my favorite episodes. I think it's because you're always told not to be afraid and that you should be brave. But in reality, you don't need to because fear makes you stronger. And I like that. Because instead of running from a flaw, you accept it for what it is and acknowledge that it's there. Noticing that we were just sitting here in silence I started talking again, "You know, you kind of remind me of my brother."

"Hm, what really?"

"Yeah, he's about your age. He's very youthful and childlike. Sorta like you. Although, I think you're more mature and calm." I pulled my knees up to chest as I wrapped my hands around them and laid my head down. Even though my brother and I were somewhat distant with each other, he was still my brother. "I don't think I'll ever get to see him again." I surprised when my voice cracked. A few tears somehow managed to spill over my waterline and streamed down my face. I quickly sat up and whipped them off of my face. "Sorry. I guess I'm just a little homesick."

"It's ok. I understand. Your brother is lucky to have you as a sister. I don't have any siblings, so I don't really know what it's like. But if I had a sister, I think I would want her to be like you." Oh, Aang. He was gonna make me start crying again.

"Thanks, Aang," I pulled the boy into a hug. I let go and was met by Aang's smile. Aang's smile morphed into a yawn as the boy showed he was starting to get tired. "Hm, looks like it's time to go to sleep."

"Yeah. I suppose so. Night Rachelle." Aang slipped off of my bed and back into his own.

"Night Aang," I said softly. I laid back down on my bed and let my head rest on the pillow. A yawn escaped my lips as I finally drifted off to sleep.

.

I was awoken suddenly by a guard grabbing me from my bed. I let out a small scream in surprise, but it didn't matter due to the fact he had already covered my mouth. A few moments later Katara, Sokka and I were walking down a plain corridor escorted by guards. I could make out the faint muffles of someone talking up ahead, but couldn't make out what they were saying. We stop walking as we came up to the end of the hallway. One of the guards quickly earthbended the wall away, opening up the corridor to the king's chambers again. Inside it was possible to see Aang standing with Bumi. I looked down at my hand as the guard put on a crystal ring that instantly tightened around my finger leaving no room for it to possibly be able to slip off.

King Bumi started to talk again, with us being able to hear now, "...so I will give your friends some special souvenirs. Those delightful rings are made of pure genemite, also known as creeping crystal. It's crystal that grows remarkably fast. By nightfall, your friends will be completely covered in it. Terrible fate, really. I can stop it, but only if you cooperate."

"Ah! It's already creeping!" Sokka yelled from beside me as the crystal started to grow upward.

Seeing his friends in danger, Aang responded to the crazy king's request, "I'll do as you want."

We moved to the location of the first challenge. We stood on a balcony overlooking a cave full of stalagmites with a waterfall in the center. King Bumi laughed as he started explaining the task to Aang, "It seems I've lost my lunch box key and I'm hungry. Ooh, there it is. Would you mind fetching it for me?" The key dangled from a chain that was covered by the rushing of the waterfall. With a look of determination, Aang jumped into action bouncing from one stalagmite to another. Geeze, that boy was like some crazy ninja. I wonder if I could ever do something like that. Probably not, but I don't want to limit myself. Aang dived into the waterfall before he started to climb up the ladder.

"Ooh, climbing the ladder. No one's thought of that before," Bumi sassily remarked before Aang was shot out of the waterfall due to the speeding water. We rushed forward to make sure that Aang was ok. Luckily, Aang had caught himself between two of the stalagmites. As Aang tried again to get the key out of the waterfall, the crystal slowly started to creep up my arm. My arm was actually getting quite tired of hold up this large amount of crystal. I think my life is now just going to consisted of my muscles aching every day. I wonder if my forehead still has the bruise. I bet it's turning all yellowy. Yay. Turning my attention back to Aang, I watched as Aang was once again thrown out of the waterfall before he grabbed onto one of the stalagmites.

"That's right. Keep diving head in, I'm sure it'll work eventually," Bumi remarked once again. Aang now instead of diving head in, he broke off the top of a stalagmite before throwing at the chain using his airbending to give it an extra boost. The stalagmite broke the chain and sent it flying through the air, pinning it right above the king.

"There, enjoy your lunch! I want my friends back, now!" Aang called out, not discouraged by the king's challenges.

"Uh, not yet. I need help with another matter. It seems I've lost my pet Flopsy," As Bumi finished up, we were once again moved to a different area. We were now outside in a rocky arena. I watched as Aang called out for Flopsy. As Aang began to chase around the rabbit to bring back to the king, a huge monster landed behind and began to chase after the boy. As Aang chase around with the animals, we stood back with crystal creeping ever higher. We watched as Aang turned around and addressed the beast as Flopsy. The beast stopped in his tracks before he picked up Aang in his arms and gave him a big lick. While Aang happily interacted with the beast, Bumi whistled out to Flopsy, getting him to put Aang down and run towards him. "Awww, that's a good boy! Yes, who has a soft belly?" King Bumi said while petting his beloved animal.

Aang jumped up out of the arena and walked over to us, "Guys, are you ok?"

"Other than the crystal slowly encasing my entire body, doing great," Katara responded sarcastically.

Our body was now fully covered in the crystal, the only parts not, were our feet and head. I looked over at Sokka as one side of the crystal grew, throwing off the balance causing Sokka to coming crashing to the ground. I laughed at Sokka's misfortune as he lay on the ground. Not moments later, a piece of my crystal grew in the back making me lose my own balance and fall backwards, "Ok, I deserved that." Guards came and helped Sokka and I up then led us the final arena. We stood on a balcony overlooking the battleground.

Once again King Bumi started to tell Aang what the next challenge would be, "Your final test is a duel and as a special treat you may choose your opponent. Point and choose." Two men stepped forward beside Bumi and stood in a line while Aang chose who would be his opponent.

"So, you're saying whoever I point to, that's the person I get to fight?" Aang said while thinking deeply.

"Choose wisely," Bumi offered up his only advice.

"I... choose... you!" Aang called out pointing his finger at Bumi.

"Haha! Wrong choice!" Bumi said before he went all 'I am freaking awesome' on Aang. He earthbended Aang off of the platform before he himself jumped down into the arena.

The three of us watched in terror as the battle progressed. Bumi, despite his old age, was a quite formidable opponent for Aang. I wonder how old is he? Like 114ish. That's pretty old. I hope I'm looking that good when I'm 114. I could be so kickass. But I could also be like one of those old ladies who garden all day and knit sweaters for their grandkids, not that it is necessarily a bad thing. Aang continued to dodge bolder after bolder thrown at him. I stepped back as Bumi began to bend the balcony next to us. My bangs began to fly over my face from the wind Aang was making while trying to counter his attack. Moments later Aang had created a tornado inside of this room. Bumi threw the balcony at Aang but it just spun around and headed back towards him. He split the rock in half, opening up the view to see Aang leap through the cloud of dust and aim his glider right at his neck. Unfortunately for Aang, Bumi had also managed to bend a bolder over the boy.

"Hehe! Well done, Avatar. You fight with much fire in your heart," Bumi kindly said to Aang before he threw the rock over to the side of the arena then fell backwards into the floor, disappearing. Bumi reappeared seconds later up on the balcony in front of us. Aang quickly followed and airbended himself up onto the balcony. "You've passed all my tests. Now, you must answer one question."

"That's not fair! You said you would release my friends if I finished your tests," Aang whined at the man.

"Oh, but what's the point of tests if you don't learn anything?" Well, he had a point there, but really, I just wanted to be able to move freely again.

Sokka was also getting fed up the ridiculous action of the man and yelled, "Oh, come on!"

"Answer this one question and I will set your friends free. What... is my name?" I looked over at Aang, who looked like he had no idea what the answer to the question was. "From the looks of your friends, I'd say you only have a few minutes."

"How am I supposed to know his name?" Aang called out to us panicked by the King's question.

Katara started to help Aang think, "Think about the challenges, maybe it's some kind of riddle."

"I got it!" Sokka called out. He hadn't said it yet, but I already feel like slapping my forehead.

"Yeah?" Aang eagerly responded wanting the answer.

"He's an earthbender, right? Rocky!" Nobody said anything. We just let the silence speak for itself. "You know, because of all the rocks?"

"Oh my gosh, Sokka! You're right. How could we have not thought of that? You're a genius," I sarcastically responded to his moronic answer.

Sokka apparently did not pick up on my sarcasm and responded, "Oh, why thank you. I do try."

"Sokka," I started in a serious tone, before immediately switching a tone full of sassiness. "I was being sarcastic. Who the hell would name their kid Rocky? Nobody! He isn't some pet rabbit."

Katara toned down my words by continuing to speak, "We're gonna keep trying, but that is a good backup Sokka.

"Okay, so back to the challenges. I got a key from the waterfall. I saved his pet and I had a duel," Aang continued on with Katara. But Rocky? Seriously. This from Sokka, the guy who was supposed to be the idea guy. It's shameful really.

"And what did you learn?" Katara continued to pry at Aang, trying to help his thoughts progress along.

"Well, everything was different than I expected."

"And...?"

"Well, they weren't straightforward. To solve each test, I had to think differently than I usually would," You could see the realization dawn on Aang as he figured out who he had been socializing with the past day. "I know his name!"

We were transported to the King's throne room for Aang to answer the question. And when I say transported, I mean it literally as Sokka, Katara, and I could no longer walk. We stood back and watched as Aang began to tell Bumi the answer to the question, "I solved the question the same way I solved the challenges. As you said a long time ago, I had to open my brain to the possibilities. Bumi, you're a mad genius!" Aang ran over to his old friend before giving a giant hug.

"Oh, Aang. It's good to see you. You haven't changed a bit. Literally," Bumi spoke rubbing Aang's head. While this reunion was sweet and everything, the creeping crystals were edging their way into my view.

"Uh, over here!" Katara called out grabbing the two guy's attention.

Sokka spoke through the little hole left on his face, "Little help?" Moments later the crystal rock that had been entrapping my body shattered, allowing me free from the cage.

King Bumi caught a piece of the rock with his hand, "Genemite is made of rock candy." He raised the rock up to his mouth and took a bite of it. "Delicious!"

"So this crazy king is your old friend, Bumi?" Katara said now free from the restricting crystals.

"Who you calling old?" Bumi said offended by Katara's comment. "Okay. I'm old."

"Why did you do all this instead of just telling Aang who you were?" Sokka asked the man.

"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people, hehe, but I do have a reason," Bumi turned to Aang becoming serious. "Aang, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years you've been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord, and when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius!" At the complement, Aang bowed to his old friend. "And it looks like you're in good hands. You'll need your friends to help defeat the Fire Nation. And you'll need Momo too." I smiled as King Bumi continued to talk. You know before, I was so afraid of being here and of being a part of this, but the longer I'm here the more I realize that I'm ok with being a part of this. I was happy.

"Thank you for your wisdom. But before we leave, I have a challenge for you!" Aang said and the next thing I knew Sokka, Katara and I were standing at the top of the hill once again watching Bumi and Aang speed down a chute. Oh, what would we do with them?

* * *

Hey, you lovies. Another chapter down. Ok, so it's slightly late, but it's not as late as the last one. So, at least it was an improvement. Anyway, I hoped that you enjoyed reading it. Thanks to those you reviewed, followed, or favorited. Leave a pm or review telling me what you think or if you have any questions or suggestions. Thanks for taking the time to read and hope to see on the next chapter.


	6. Imprisonment

Ha ha ha, I have finally returned. Bet you thought I had given up on this story, but no! I will not give up on this story. Even if it takes me five years I will finish this story. So anyway, I hope you like the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Air Bender

* * *

I sat against a rock as Aang, Katara and I waited on Sokka to come back with food to eat. It was one of the many changes in my life that I was beginning to get used to. The food wasn't as gorgeous quality as it was back home. It was basically a hunter-gather kind of diet, with the exception of times when we passed by a town and was able to pick up some more decent food.

There were a few more things I had to get used to. Well, there was the camping out every night. I had never liked camping either. I was also outside almost every single moment of every single day. If I wanted to look on the bright side, I could say I acquired a nice tan from being outside. So I guess I should thank my tiny bit of Mexican in me that stopped my skin from burning. Thanks. At first, it had been torture, but as time grew on I began to get more use to it. Although, I still kind of missed my pampered lifestyle that I once had. And by, kind of, I mean a lot.

"Great, you're back! What's for dinner?" Aang called out dragging my attention back down to earth. I looked over to Sokka who was entering our camp holding a sack.

I scooted over to the center of our camp and watched as Sokka began to show us what he had collected, "We've got a few options. First, round nuts and some kind of oval shaped nuts, and some rock shaped nuts that... might just be rocks. Dig in!" Sokka set the nuts out in the middle of the circle, with the exception of the one that was a rock which he just threw over his shoulder.

"Seriously, what else ya got?" Katara told her brother after seeing what he had brought back.

I looked at the pitiful pile of nuts in the center of our group before I let out a sigh, "This is just sad." At our complaints, Sokka looked back into the bag, staring at it as if he hoped he would magically be able to find something else. We sat in the sad silence of the food that had been found until a loud crash echoed through the forest.

"What was that?" Sokka called out at the sudden loud noise. Only a few moments later, another loud crash was heard in the forest causing us to jump up onto our feet.

"It's coming from over there!" Aang yelled, pointing off into the direction where the sound had come from. Aang and Katara quickly rushed off to find the noise, leaving Sokka and me standing there watching them run off.

"Shouldn't we run away from huge booms – not toward them?" Sokka called out to the pair.

"You would think," I told Sokka before we both started heading the same direction that Aang and Katara had rushed off in. The four of us hid behind a fallen tree with our heads peering out over the top. In the clearing up ahead stood a boy; we watched as he started to earthbend the rocks around the area letting out loud crashes, much like the ones we had been hearing earlier.

"An earthbender!" Katara whispered enthusiastically to us from our hiding spot.

Aang agreed with Katara's excitement and suggested, "Let's go meet him!"

"He looks dangerous, so we better approach cautiously," Sokka advised his sister and Aang.

As Sokka was staring at the boy, still talking about being cautious, I watched Katara hop over the fallen tree and run up to the boy, "Hello there, I'm Katara! What's your name?"

"So much for cautious," I told Sokka next to me. Sokka stood there, mortified by his sister's rash actions. Looking back over to the clearing, I saw the earthbender drop the rock he was bending. I walked forward out into the empty space as the boy ran off into the distance, earthbending rocks to block the path he was taking.

"Nice to meet you!" Aang called out to the fleeing boy, cupping his hands around his mouth to make the call louder.

Katara stepped forward next to Aang sending a disappointed gaze at where the boy had run away, "We just wanted to say 'hi'".

"Well, he obviously did not want your hi," I told her with a very serious stare. Her frown deepened at my comment so I continued to talk, placing my hand over my heart, "but don't worry Katara, for I, will always be there for you if you need someone to accept your hi."

"Thanks, I think," Katara replied before she put her finger on her chin to think. "You know I can't really tell if you're being serious or if you're just joking." Hm, kind of both I would say. I wasn't totally joking, but I may have been a little over dramatic with my statement. Ha. Me. Be overdramatic. I would never in a million years, even if the world was ending, be overdramatic. I just shrugged my shoulders at the girl, leaving her to wonder whether I was being serious or not.

Our attention turned to Aang as he called out, "Hey, that guy's gotta be running somewhere, maybe we're near a village and I bet that village has a market!"

"Which means no nuts for dinner!" Katara returned the excitement, clasping her hands together.

Not eating nuts for dinner, now that was something I could celebrate. "Woo!" I let out, pumping my fist in the air before Katara, Aang, and I took off running in the direction the boy had left in a little bit ago.

"Hey! I worked hard to get those nuts!" I faintly heard Sokka call out behind us. I know he couldn't be too disappointed because, let's be honest, do you really think he wanted to eat those nuts? No.

Before long we came upon the village that we knew we'd find in this direction. I felt like I could almost let out a hallelujah at the thought of decent food. But I didn't. I kept my happiness inside. I don't think you really knew how much you love good food until you barely ever got to eat good food. I had always been a picky eater. I used to just not eat the food I didn't like until I stumbled upon something that I did, but out here, where one is relying on nature alone, I couldn't be that picky. But I've been getting better about what I'll eat. An empty stomach will do that to you.

The village bustled around us as the citizens went about their everyday life, giving off the small provincial town vibe. I walked through the town letting my eyes wonder onto each of the stalls at the market to look at what they were selling. Mostly there was food and crafts, very typical of a market. Although I didn't see anything that was of interest to me, I watched Aang walk over to a stall to try his hand at bargaining, "Great hat. I'll trade you some nuts for it." Surprisingly enough the sells-man was ok with the nuts that Sokka had gathered earlier, gaining Aang one of the Asian style straw hats to cover his arrows. Luckily for me, I no longer felt like I needed to cover my forehead as my bruise was now gone from my head. Surprisingly, it didn't last for long. Not even a full week, which felt strangely short to me.

Aang turned around to us and showed us his new hat, happy with his achievement. "Looking snazzy, Aang," I told the boy giving him a thumbs up.

"Hey!" Katara called out causing us to look at her, only to see her running off somewhere, leaving us behind.

"Woah," Sokka called out as he watched his sister run off in the distance, shocked by her abrupt actions. "Why did she just run off like that?"

"I guess there's only one way to find out," I said to the two boys before taking off after Katara. I managed to spot Katara's blue outfit through the crowd, which stood out from the green and browns that the rest of the town was wearing, just in time to see her duck inside of a building. "Over here," I called out to Sokka and Aang who were still slightly behind me. We enter the building in time to hear Katara conversing with the same boy that we had seen not too long ago out in the woods. She asked him why he had run away.

The boy replied to Katara's question with a lie, "Uh, you must have me confused with some other kid."

Stepping into the shop, Aang joined the conversation saying, "No she doesn't".

"Uh, Aang," I meekly spoke up trying to Aang to stop from pestering the boy, since he obviously had a good reason for staying quiet about his activities.

"We saw you earthbending," Aang continued right through my effort to get him to stop. I don't think you should be saying anything. That's what I was going to say, but unfortunately, I was either too late or not assertive enough. I was quite impressed, though, by how fast his mother shut the door and window after the words left Aang's mouth. I wonder if she did drills to practice in the case of such emergency or if she was just running off of adrenaline. Either way, in a few seconds the door was closed and the window shut, leaving us in the dark shadow of the indoors.

"They saw you doing what?" The woman said with panic riddled in her voice to her son.

Trying to smooth over the situation, Haru spoke up trying to defend his actions, "They're crazy, mom, I mean, look at how they're dressed!" As Haru motioned in our direction, the four of us looked down at our clothing, wondering if they really were that bad. I was still wearing the outfit that I had bought on Kyoshi Island while the other three wore their typical clothes. Maybe the colors? You know, since basically everyone here wears green, and if they're not wearing green then it's still something earth toned. Not me, though. Nope. I've been greenified. Although, green is not a creative color. Poor Earth Kingdom.

Haru's mother, however, knew that our clothes were fine, which they were, and continued to get the truth out of her son, "You know how dangerous that is! You know what would happen if they caught you earthbending!"

Her worried words were interrupted by a heavy knock coming from the door, followed by a call from a deep voice, "Open up!"

Silence filled the air, leaving only the sounds of our breaths and Sokka's footsteps as he walked over to the window before peeking through the blinds and checking who was at the door, "Fire Nation! Act natural!" As Haru's mom went over to open up the door, the six of us scattered across the room and started to 'act natural', if that's what you could call it. Sokka was talking to Haru about fruit, but he wasn't actually talking, just miming. Katara was eating cherries, but she just had her mouth full and wasn't really eating them. Aang leaned against a barrel, smiling as if nothing was wrong. I decided to admire some lovely collection of ceramics up against the wall. Let me tell you, this was some of the finest acting I've ever seen.

The door was opened up and the Fire Nation soldier entered causing the already high tensions to climb even higher. Awkward silence lingered in the room until it was interrupted by Aang. His hand plunged through the top the barrel he was leaning on and into the water which it contained. I quickly turned around to Aang and helped him out of the barrel. He gave me a sheepish smile as he got back up onto his feet. While Aang got himself under control, Haru's mother started talking to the soldier, "What do you want? I've already paid you this week."

"The tax just doubled," the Fire Nation soldier talked in a deep, threatening voice as all of us gathered around to see what would happen and, if something did, to be nearby to do something about it. "Wouldn't want an accident, would we?" In his hand, a fireball was produced, showing the threat at hand before sinisterly smiling at us. "Fire is sometimes so hard to control."

I felt anger rise up in me at his threats and even more when I looked over at Haru's mother. Her face that had once held defiance now held fear and resignation. My fist clenched together as I bit my tongue. I wanted to be able to go over there and beat him up, but unfortunately, if I did that I would lose and things would just be worse than what they already were. My nails dug into my skin as she placed a small chest on the table before opening it, revealing the few coins that they had. Taking basically all of the coins, Haru's mother handed them to the soldier who looked at them for a few seconds before dropping the small ones on the ground, "You can keep the copper ones."

Tears started to well up in my eyes as the soldier strutted out of the building. God, he's such a fucking douchebag. I can't wait for the day things around here change. I want to win this war right now, and even though I know that Zuko may not be in the best place right now, I want him to be in charge and change the things that are happening. But one day, I'm getting ahead of myself here. We're only in season one, but just to think that these people have lived through a hundred years of this stuff and will continue to suffer through this for another year at least. It's unbelievable.

"Nice guy. How long has the Fire Nation been here?" Sokka said, not even seeming bothered by the event that had just happened.

Haru's mother responded also not to upset, at least on the outside, about the incident, "Five years. Fire Lord Ozai uses our town's coal mines to fuel his ships."

"They're thugs; they steal from us, and everyone here is too much of a coward to do anything about it," Haru spoke countering his mother's comment and, in my opinion, showed the real emotion that everyone should have been feeling. They should be angry; these soldiers oppress and lord over these people just because they have the power. And since they have the power there's not much they can do, but don't just sit back and be ok with it.

His mother, however, did not agree, "Quiet, Haru. Don't talk like that."

"But, Haru's an earthbender, he can help," Katara tried to reason with the mother.

"Earthbending is forbidden. It's caused nothing but misery for this village. He must never use his abilities," Haru's mother said setting Katara off.

"How can you say that? Haru has a gift. Asking him not to earthbend is like asking me not to waterbend. It's a part of who we are."

The mother spoke to Katara as if she was an ignorant, naive child, "You don't understand."

"I understand that Haru can help you fight back. What can the Fire Nation do to you that they haven't done already?" Katara continued.

"They could take Haru away! Like they took his father," Haru's mother spoke, causing a painful silence to come over the room, leaving Katara wide-eyed.

.

As the sunset over the horizon, we entered a barn that Haru had led us to. I looked around at inside of the barn as Haru started talking to us, "My mom said you can sleep here tonight, but you should leave in the morning."

"Thanks. I'll make sure Appa doesn't eat all your hay," Aang told Haru as Appa had gone straight into the barn and started to eat the hay. I wave goodbye at Katara as she walked out with Haru, leaving the three of us in the barn.

I turned back around and surveyed the inside of the barn. It was dark and quiet in here. The only sounds were Sokka setting up his sleep area and the animals from outside. The air felt stale around me like an empty space. It was very peaceful. "Whelp, it looks like it's just the three of us for a while," I called out to the boys placing my hands on my hips.

"Where did Katara go?" Sokka asked turning his attention to me, stopping his progress on his sleeping arrangements.

"Off with Haru somewhere," I replied somewhat apathetically, shrugging my shoulders. I pursed my lips as I thought of things that I could do before the sun disappeared over the horizon. It was really nice outside, maybe I'd go for a walk. "Hey, guys. I'm gonna go on a walk if you need me for anything, k?" I gave a thumbs up to the boys, getting one in return from Aang.

I didn't go far from the barn, really. Only a few meters. Instead of going on a walk like I had originally thought of, I just sat down looked out at the horizon. I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. I could hear the wind blow through the trees as my hair was swept to the side from the force. The sounds of animals could still be heard every now and then, breaking the silence of nature, but they sounded natural to be in this environment. Looking out over the land, I could see miles off in the distance that was illuminated by the golden glow of the fading sun. It was beautiful, but at the same time it felt so foreign, so not home.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as I heard Sokka call out to me, "Hey, I thought you were going for a walk?" I looked up over my shoulder to see Sokka walking towards me.

As he took a seat next to me, I looked back out over the horizon, "I was, but I got sidetracked." I rested my chin on my knees. Neither of us said anything, just looked out over the land. I wondered how Sokka was doing. Everyone seemed like they were handling everything ok, but no one really said if they really were ok. It had to major change for everyone, not just me. Tilting my head to one side, I looked over at the boy. He had a solemn expression and looked deep in thought. Deciding to start a conversation, I looked away and spoke, "So, this must be little different from the South Pole."

"No, not at all. It's basically exactly the same," Sokka sarcastically replied.

"Oh, yes. I was shocked at how green and warm the South Pole was," I joked back with the boy, with a slight grin on my face. "I had always heard how cold and icy it was, but I guess you can't trust every source." The boy chuckled a little bit but didn't say anything else. I shook my head faintly at the boy's actions. Sokka being so quiet was rare. Deciding I should pester him more, I asked him, "Do you miss it a lot?"

"Well, of course, I miss it. It's my home, my family. How could I not miss it!" There was a little fire behind his words, although not necessarily directed at me. I opened and closed my mouth looking at the boy, trying to find something to say, but nothing came. Fortunately, Sokka started talking again, "Sorry. It's just, I keep thinking about what if the Fire Nation comes and attacks them. I supposed to protect the village, but now I left and they have no one."

I watched the boy slump over in worry. I lightly smiled at the boy and his worry; I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me with questioning eyes, "But isn't that what we're doing? We're helping Aang become the person he needs to be to stop the Fire Nation. And once we finish with fighting back, the Fire Nation will never hurt your village again. So, you are protecting your village, just not in a conventional manner."

Processing what I said, Sokka sat up straighter with his face lighting up, "You know, I never thought about it that way. You're right. I am protecting my village." I chuckled lightly at the boy's now confident mood. "Thank you, Rachelle," I smiled and shrugged my shoulders sheepishly. I do what I can. "So what about you? Miss your home much?"

My smile saddened as I thought of home and how far away I was from it, "Yeah. I miss home."

I could feel Sokka eyes fall expectantly on me, waiting for me to say more. When I didn't say anything more, he continued on, "We'll have to go visit it sometime."

"We can't." I cut him off. "It's gone." My voice sounded harsher and colder than what I necessary meant it to be, but my heart was starting to fill with the pain I thought I was starting to push away.

"I'm sorry," Sokka whispered back, somewhat sheepish after my words.

"It's fine," I stated shortly. I let out a deep sigh, releasing my emotions into the air and moving on. "So, how about some fighting practice Sifu Sokka?" I asked him grinning. We quickly got up and started practicing some fighting techniques. Sokka had been trained to use the South Pole Spears; we didn't have any of those, so instead, we used random sticks we found in nature. It was a diligent fight we had, and I fought valiantly if I do say so myself. Unfortunately, I laid on the ground, in a losing position, where Sokka had knocked me down.

I gasped up to the sky, "'Tis cruel, this world. I have been struck down by a noble foe. Now I lay in the soft embrace of death. The pain is overwhelming. I surely will not survive!" I collapsed on the ground, pretending to die. I heard Sokka let out a large laugh at my actions. I smiled and turned to lay more relaxed on the ground with my arms spread out.

"What are you guys doing?" I heard Aang ask. I quickly sat up and looked over at the boy who had come out of the barn. I guess he must have heard us out here and came out to see what was up.

"Sokka killed me," I said pointing over to the accused.

"Yeah, well you're looking pretty alive for a dead person," Sokka replied, coming over to me. I held up my hands, which he then grabbed and lifted me to my feet.

I popped up and started walking back to the barn, "I survive, even though death. Nothing can stop me." I narrowed my eyes in confidence as my heart filled with determination.

As we entered back into the barn, it wasn't long before Katara arrived back from her journey with Haru. Of course, with everything that happened, Katara was excitedly telling us all about her evening journey, "It was so brave of Haru to use his earthbending to help that old man."

"You must have really inspired him," Aang replied to Katara from his perch on Appa as her story finished.

"I guess so," Katara let out, happy with how today's events turned out. I watched as she smiled into the flames of the lamp she held.

Sokka, however, was not in the happy go lucky mood that everyone else seemed to be in. He spoke to us, rolling over into a more comfortable position for the night, "Everyone should get some sleep. We're leaving at dawn."

I groaned loudly at the comment, falling back into my sleeping bag. Katara seemed just as unhappy by this comment as me and questioned her brother quickly, "Dawn? Can't we sleep in for once?"

"Absolutely not! This village is crawling with Fire Nation troops. If they discover you're here, Aang, we'll be eating fireballs for breakfast. Good night." Sokka looked back over at us as he talked. He turned away from us once again, trying to go to sleep.

A sly grin appeared on Katara's as she looked over at her brother, "I'd rather eat fireballs than nuts."

The three of us chuckled as Sokka grumbled out, "Good night." I rolled over on my side as Katara put out the lamp, leaving us in the dark.

I heard some shuffling of sheets and saw Katara turn over to face me. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw Katara's face peeking out from her sleeping bag. I smiled at the girl and whispered to her through the dark, "You like him, don't you?"

"W—what? No! Don't be ridiculous, Rachelle," Katara replied flustered by my comment. I couldn't see through the dark, but I'm absolutely certain that she was blushing.

"Youu liikee him!" I said in a sing-songy voice, chuckling.

"Shut up," She said with a small laugh, rolling over onto her back. "So, maybe I do, but it was just so amazing how he saved those people today, and I related to him so much about how we feel with our parents."

"You're so cute," I commented to Katara. "I wish you the best of luck. But just remember, that we won't be staying here…just make sure that you don't get hurt, ok?"

"Yeah, I know," Katara said softly under her breath. We both let only the sound of the night life and our breath fill our ears as we rolled off to sleep.

.

I woke up the next morning feeling pretty ok, although I really felt like I hadn't got much sleep. I covered my mouth as I let out a large yawn. My eyes closed, blocking out all of the sights outside of my own head. It felt so nice, like I could just lie down and go back to sleep. But I could not do that. So, instead, I rubbed my eyes and opened them up to the sunny morning that had arrived. If the rest of the world was moving, I guess I have to as well. Getting off of my tired butt, I started packing up our supplies that had been used during the night.

I had been working very diligently when the barn doors flung open with Katara rushing in. "They took him! They took Haru away!" She shouted in a panic of anger. Her outburst immediately got the three of us to jump up on our feet.

"What?" Aang said panicked by Katara's words.

"The old man turned him in to the Fire Nation. It's all my fault, I forced him into earthbending," Katara continued getting more and more panicked with each word.

"Slow down, Katara, when did this happen?" Sokka calmly told his sister, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulder.

Calmer than what she had been before, Katara continued to explain what had happened, "Haru's mother said they came for him at midnight."

"Then it's too late to track him, he's long gone," Sokka said taking a step back from Katara as he started to think.

"We don't need to track him," Katara spoke as if she already had an idea. She turned her back towards us as she looked out the door. "The Fire Nation is going to take me right to Haru."

The three of us paused for a moment when she said that. Aang then asked the question that we all had been wondering, "...and why would they do that?"

"Because they're going to arrest me for earthbending." I couldn't see her face, but I could hear the determination in her voice as she spoke. But no matter how much determination she had in her voice, it did not change the fact that this sounded crazy, as Katara was not an earthbender but rather a waterbender. The three of us exchanged a look of worry at her words. What the hell was she talking about? (Well, I mean, of course, I knew, but I was just going to pretend I don't. Just to not look like a crazy soothsayer.)

.

The rough surface of the boulder felt cool on my hands as I helped Katara and Sokka roll it forward onto the grate. Being completely honest, my muscle hadn't stopped aching for weeks (or least felt like it), but pushing this rock showed how much all the working out has done for them. Although, it does make me wonder if my muscles ever will stop aching.

As we finally pushed the boulder on top of the grate, Sokka started going over the plan, "I thought you were crazy at first, Katara, but this might work. There are ventilation shafts throughout these mines, all Aang has to do is send an air current from that vent to this one right here. The boulder levitates and – tada! Fake earthbending."

"Aang. Did you get all that?" Katara called out to Aang, who was currently playing with a butterfly and not paying much attention to what the rest of us were doing.

"Sure, I got it," Aang responded in a chilled out way that did not reassure that he did know what to do.

Calling again, just to make sure that Aang had really got it, Sokka asked, "Do you remember your cue?"

"Yeah, yeah, just relax. You're taking all the fun out of this." Oh, yes. This was so fun, getting captured by the very people who would gladly kill us. I have never had this much fun. Yay.

Sokka had seemed to be thinking along the same lines as me, responding, "By 'this' do you mean intentionally getting captured by an army of ruthless firebenders?"

"Exactly! That's fun stuff."

"Yeah… so much fun," I muttered distressed by our future actions. Taking a deep breath, I pushed my worries aside and turned to Katara and Sokka, "Don't worry. I'll make sure that he doesn't miss his cue." With that said, I walked over and hid behind the rock with Aang. I quietly peered out over the rock and watched as the plan went into action. Katara and Sokka walked up and bumped into one another.

In an exaggerated voice, Sokka shouted at his sister, "Get out of my way, pipsqueak!"

"How dare you call me 'pipsqueak', you giant-eared cretin!" Katara shouted back, mimicking her brother's intonation. This. Was. Terrible. I mentally slapped my forehead at how bad their acting was. How the guards did not see through their act was beyond me.

"What did you call me?" Sokka retaliated with a fake offense.

"A giant-eared cretin! Look at those things," Katara took her hands and put them up to her ears, spreading out her fingers to give the illusion of humongous ears. "Do herds of animals use them for shade?" I clenched my mouth shut as a laugh almost escaped. Ok, this may have been terrible acting, but it was funny.

"You better back off!" Sokka told her getting up in her face before he placed a hand in front of his mouth to whisper something to Katara. Because yes, Sokka, by doing this you will not tell the guards that you are telling her something.

Katara continued the argument, "I will not back off! I bet elephants get together and make fun of how large your ears are!"

"That's it – you're going down!"

"I'll show you who's boss – earthbending style!" Hearing this, I turned around and tapped Aang on his shoulder with the back of my hand.

"Aang! This is your cue," I whispered to him.

Now paying attention, Aang quickly jumped into action and airbended through the grate. I turned back around and watched as the boulder we had been moving earlier shot up into the air showing Momo behind it.

The soldier pointed at Momo before shouting, "That lemur! It's earthbending!" Oh, yeah, that's why they didn't see through Katara and Sokka's bad acting, because they're stupid. Wow, the Fire Nation is really going downhill.

"No, you idiot! It's the girl!" Sokka corrected the soldier. Embarrassed by his pervious statement, the soldier stumbled out—Oh, of course—before Sokka grabbed his sister holding her in place. "I'll hold her!"

Aang and I came out of our hiding place as the soldiers escorted Katara away. We stood and watched as Katara was led farther and farther away. As she disappeared from sight Sokka turned to Momo and said, "Momo, you have some big ears!"

"No, Momo doesn't have big ears," I defended Momo as he climbed up my shoulder. "Momo's ears are perfectly proportioned to his body."

"What!" Sokka shouted at me. "His ears are almost the same size as his body!"

"Exactly, lemurs are supposed to have big ears. Aren't they, Momo?" I asked him as I scratched behind his ear.

.

As Katara was carted off to prison, we trailed behind making sure that we did not lose where she was going. Through the day, we flew up in the air on Appa. The day passed slowly by as we sat doing random things up in clouds. Eventually, the sun went down and it was time to go rescue Katara.

Sokka and I sat on Appa, waiting for Aang to come back with Katara. Luckily, it didn't seem that we would have to wait for much longer as Katara and Aang came into view. "Your 12 hours are up, where's Haru? We've got to get out of here," Sokka spoke to his sister, ready to get out of the fire nation's territory. Plus, the guards were circulating around the edge of the ship. It would only be a matter of time before we were stumbled upon. Time was of the essence.

Aang hopped over to Appa and Sokka put out his hand to help Katara across. However, Katara kept her distance from the edge, not taking Sokka's hand. Instead, she replied, "I can't."

"We don't have much time, there are guards everywhere. Get on," Sokka said back to his sister, not caring much for what she was talking. He was more focused on the guards and the immediate danger.

Aang, unlike Sokka, noticed that there was something up with the way Katara was acting and questioningly called out to her, "Katara, what's wrong?"

Katara firmly held his gaze with determination flaring in her eyes, "I'm not leaving. I'm not giving up on these people."

.

The four of us sat in a circle as we hashed out the problems arising from Katara's want to stay. "What do you mean you're not leaving!?" Sokka quietly yelled out his sister. He had immediately jumped into action when he realized Katara wanted to stay. Sokka had different opinions on what actions should be taken.

"We can't abandon these people," Katara fought against her brother. Katara did have a good reason for staying, but even if she couldn't convince Sokka, I'm pretty sure would just stay here anyway. "There has to be a way to help them."

"Maybe she's right.," Aang said, seeing where Katara was coming. Aang continued on, doing what he did best, being a peace broker, "What do you say, Rachelle?"

"I think we should stay. If we can help these people, then we should," I agreed with Aang and Katara.

Hearing my answer, Aang turned to Sokka and asked his opinion on the matter (even though it was pretty obvious that he didn't really agree with it), "Sokka?"

"I say you're all crazy!" Sokka said at our answers. Our discussion was cut short as the searchlight came over our heads, alerting us to the coming danger. We ducked down as the light passed over, watching it with cautious eyes. As the light left our vicinity, Sokka turned back to our conversation, asking one last time for Katara just to get on Appa so we could leave, "Last chance, we need to leave – now!"

"No." Katara held firm in her decision.

I saw a debate take place between the two siblings as they looked at each other. Knowing that we were running out of time and that Katara was not going to change her decision, Sokka gave in, "I hate when you get like this." The search light crossed above us once again. "Come on, we better hide." With that, we ran aboard the ship to hide away from the guards while we spoke of what we were doing. It didn't take long for us to find a place to stow away from the guards. We crouched behind creates and tried to figure what to do next, "We don't have much time. What are we gonna do?"

"I wish I knew how to make a hurricane," Aang said disappointed in his abilities at the moment. The three of us gave him a look of disbelief. Seeing our looks, Aang quickly explained his reasoning, "The Warden would run away and we'd steal his keys!" I chuckled at the boy, he was so young and innocent. It was adorable.

"Wouldn't he just take his keys with him?" Sokka pointed out the flaw in logic.

Seeing that there was indeed a small problem with him plan, Aang quickly covered his track, "I'm just tossing ideas around."

Katara started telling us of what she had experienced earlier today, "I tried talking the earthbender into fighting back, but it didn't work. If there was just a way to help them help themselves."

"For that they'd need some kind of earth or some rock... something they can bend," Following Katara's statement, Sokka stated what they would need in order to help themselves.

Katara touched the ground, which was complete metal, "But this entire place is made of metal." I internally let out a sad sigh, if only they could metal bend. However, Toph hadn't even discovered metal bending yet, so that was not an option.

I followed Aang's eyes as they glanced upwards. Spotting the smoke, Aang pointed up at the fumes and shared his knowledge with the others, "It's not. Look at the smoke. I bet they're burning coal – In other words, earth." Very good, Aang. Except for the fact that coal is made out of fossilized plants, so technically not really earth. But what even classifies as earth? Soil and rocks are just made up of a different bunch of elements (the actual, scientific kind of elements). So, obviously coal counts as earth for the sake of earthbending, but if coal is made up of carbon, does that mean that earthbenders could bend carbon, even in the air? Or can they just bend the solid form of carbon? I shook my head. How about I don't apply actual scientific logic here. I bet they have a whole bunch of different scientific rules in this universe, so I shouldn't even worry.

.

Katara, Sokka, and I stood at the edge of a grate as the morning dawn approached. "It's almost dawn, we're running out of time! Are you sure this is gonna work?" Katara asked her brother from our crouched position, as we were still semi-trying to hide.

"It should. These vents reminded me of our little trick back at the village. We're gonna do the same thing, but on a much bigger scale. There's a huge deposit of coal at the base of the silo, and the whole system is ventilated. Aang closed off all the vents except one. When he does his airbending, the coal only has one place to go – right back here," Sokka explained the whole working of the plans to Katara.

Before there was time to do anything else, our attention was drawn up as a man shouted, "There're the intruders!" Quickly standing up and taking a defensive position, I looked around to see six threatening guards surrounding us, with more on the way.

"Stay back, I'm warning you!" Sokka yelled back at the guards, taking out his boomerang and holding it threateningly at the guards surrounding us.

Doing much the same, I took my fans and held them in a defensive stance. "You really don't want to mess with us," I shouted, trying to sound tough, although I don't really think that I succeeded.

"Katara stop!" Called an old man from the crowd of prisoners. I think must have been Haru's father. "You can't win this fight!" I had my back to Katara, so I couldn't really see her expression, but I knew that she must have been shocked and discouraged by his comment. I was, and I wasn't the one who started this fight.

Before Katara could retort to him, a man's voice called from behind me, "Listen to him well, child. You're one mistake away from dying where you stand."

I took a deep gulp looking around at the fire nation guards as they slowly closed in. My heart pounded as I contemplated the fact that I might have to fight fire nation troops. Me, with so little experience. I was terrified. Luckily, I didn't have to focus on the closing in guards for very much before a rumbling sounded throughout the deck. The three of us stepped away from the grate as a river of coal erupted from inside. The coal flowed over the deck, creating a barrier between the earthbenders and the firebenders. Everyone stood in shock, staring at the pile of coal. A few seconds later, Aang shot up from the vent covered in coal dust and landed on the pile.

Katara ran up onto the top of the pile and turned to talk to the earthbenders, "Here's your chance, earthbenders!" She grabbed a lump of coal and raised it high in the air. "Take it! Your fate is in your own hands!" However, the earthbenders did not step forward and take up arms as Katara thought they would. Instead, they stood still or even backed away from Katara. I saw the poor girl's face began to diminish in passion.

"Hahaha! Foolish girl!" Called out the same man from before, although now I could see his face. I assumed that he was the warden of the ship. "You thought a few inspirational words and some coal would change these people? Look at these blank, hopeless faces." Looking at the faces of the earthbenders, I realized that he was correct. They had no fight left in them. They had just given up. It made me sad and furious to see them in such a way. How could they just give up fighting? This was their life, their family, their country. They needed to keep fighting. I never wanted to turn into them. So, downtrodden and hopeless. I promised myself to never give and to keep on fighting, to never turn into them. "Their spirits were broken a long time ago. Oh? But you still believe in them? How sweet. They're a waste of your energy, little girl. You've failed."

Katara stood on the coal pile, with her shoulders slumped, becoming defeated by his words. Slowly, the warden walked away, seeing that he had clearly won the battle (and apparently didn't care about the intruders on his ship?). Suddenly, I heard a wiz go past my ears. Sure enough, a piece of coal flew and hit the warden in the back of his head. Looking over, I could see Haru standing not far away from me, twirling pieces of coal around with his hand. The warden turned around with fury on his face, looking at Haru. In retaliation, the Warden sent a fire blast towards Haru. The flames were just about to engulf the boy when a wall of coal formed to block the fire. His father had come to his rescue. It had become clear that a battle was about to break out if it hadn't already started.

"Show no mercy!" The Warden called back to his men. The firebenders unleashed a wall of flames at the prisoners, but the earthbenders easily created a huge wall of coal to block the flames.

"For the Earth Kingdom, attack!" With that, fighting started to break out across the whole platform. Fire benders were throwing fire and the earthbenders were throwing coal. Deciding that I need to do something to help, I held my fans up and got ready to fight. A guard made his way in my direction. I took a gulp, unsure if I really could do this. I breathed deeply, yes I could. I step forward and let him make the first move. He stabbed his spear at me. I dodged to the right and used my left fan to swipe the spear away from the guard. I did this by sweeping the fan down the wood to the metal end, where my fan caught on the metal. Pulling backwards with my hand, the guard's spear slipped out of his grasp and onto the ground. Not wasting any time, while the guard was still in shock at my counter attack, I closed my right fan and threw it forward. It was the same technique I had used on Zuko not that long ago, but now I had gotten better at it. I was nowhere near the Kyoshi warrior level, but I could now throw with a decent amount of force behind my throw. The fan hit the guard square in the face, throwing him backwards to the ground. He lay on the ground unconscious, or at least dazed and confused enough to not come after me. I turned and ran over to Katara, Sokka, and Aang, who were fighting their own battles.

Suddenly, a loud crashing sound directed our attention over to the side of the boat where a huge ball of coal had just been thrown. "Get to the ship! We'll hold them off!" Haru's father called to us.

"Do not let them escape!" the Warden yelled, rallying his troops against the man. The firebenders shot fire over at our exit causing Aang to stop.

Quickly thinking, Aang created a tornado shaped funnel. "Guys, throw me some coal!" I reached down and picked up the few pieces of coal that lay at my feet. I ran over and put the coal into the funnel Aang had created. Katara and Sokka did much the same, then Sokka put in a huge pile of coal into the tube. The pieces of coal went flying out at the guards, knocking them down. While they were down on the ground, several earthbenders bent the coal under all the guards (including the warden) and moved the platform out over the water.

"No, please! I can't swim!" The Warden called out to Haru's father, pleading for his life.

"Don't worry, I hear cowards float," And just like that, Haru's father dropped all the guards into the ocean below. My eyes widened with shock and my heart skipped a beat. I know that the warden and guards weren't that great of people, but to just dump them into the ocean, where they will probably die. It seemed really cruel. I mean, I know I had fought one guard and left him dazed and not fully conscious, but…to kill them was a whole other story. I took a deep gulp, pushing my worries aside for the moment.

It wasn't long until we had gotten all the earthbenders off of the main boat and into several smaller ships that would take them back to their homes. I sat on Appa with Aang and Sokka, while Katara stood on one of the ships talking with Haru and his father (Whose name I learned was Tyro). My attention was drawn to them as Tyro made an announcement to the ships. I kept my eyes focused on Katara and Haru while they talked. I let out a large sigh, laying back on the saddle. It sure had been a long day.

* * *

And there you have it. Hope you liked it. I'm sorry for being gone for so long and not updating. My life was just crazy.

Please leave a review or pm to let me know how liked it or to comment on the story.

Thanks


	7. The Spirit World(Winter Solstice Part 1)

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

* * *

The sunlight bounced on and off of the metal fan as I twirled it around in my hand. The golden metal reflected the light perfectly and was, currently, the only thing I could find to do. I closed the fan and then dramatically reopened it with a downward flick of my wrist. It also was a perfect device for keeping my cool, although, up in the sky that wasn't really needed. But still, it was something to do. At first, I had really liked flying on Appa. It was really cool to look out over the land and feel the wind in my air, but we had spent so many hours flying places that it had kind of gotten old. I did still look out over the land sometimes, but I had opted out of that for right now. Katara, however, was currently looking over the edge of the saddle, staring at the land below and the clouds in the sky.

"Those clouds look so soft, don't they?" Katara said from her perch. As she spoke, I closed my fan and attached it back to my pants. I moved over towards Katara, laying on my stomach next her, looking out over the clouds much like she was doing. "Like you could just jump down and you'd land in a big, soft cottony heap."

Looking at the clouds, I had to agree. They just looked so soft and fluffy. Today they were the kind of clouds that looked as if they were in a painting just because they were so fluffy. I wish that I could just gather up a whole bunch of clouds and make a really nice, soft bed to take a long restful nap. If only. My dreamy thoughts were pulled out of the clouds by Sokka poking fun at his sister, "Maybe you should give it a try."

"You're hilarious," Katara dryly responded to Sokka.

"I'll try it!" Aang excitedly exclaimed from his seat on Appa's head. Without thinking twice, Aang jumped off of Appa and into the sky, plummeting towards the ground. "Yehhhh!" All of us rushed over to the side of the saddle, looking out at the sky Aang had madly jumped into. Aang's loud laughter rang through the sky as he disappeared into the clouds. Stupid airbender. Just being able to jump into clouds. I was so jealous. But Aang would never know the joy of playing a video game or watching a movie; we all have our own special things in life. We all three watched carefully and looked for Aang to reappear. Unexpectedly, the whoosh of Aang's glider catching air was heard from behind us, instead of the side Aang had jumped off into. He gracefully landed on Appa's saddle, soaking wet with water. "Turns out clouds are made of water!" Aang remarked, raising his arms so water dripped down from his sleeves.

"Yup, water and dust particles. Who would have guessed? I guess no cottony, soft pillows for us today," I said nonchalantly, shrugging my shoulders. As I talked, Aang used his airbending to dry the cloud water out of his clothing. Katara and Sokka gave him an exasperated look for a moment before they ignored his crazy action of jumping into the sky. Katara turned her attention back to the landscape that she previously had been watching.

Her face turned to a worried look as she called out to us, "Hey, what is that?" Katara's call gathered our attention to the land out in the distance. I turned the corners of my mouth down at the sight of a blackened area of the forest down below. A black scar of land ran down the landscape in a jagged pattern. It clearly was from a forest fire that ate up the life of the forest and spat it out as an ashy pile of remains. The others gathered by my side with similar downtrodden looks upon their faces.

"It's like a scar," Sokka remarked next to me while he despondently viewed the ground. We somberly waited in Appa's saddle as we flew down to the burnt forest ground. Warily, I dropped down from my perch on Appa, landing gingerly on the soot covered ground. I wiped my hands together, brushing off the dust that had settled on my fingertips when I landed, staring out into the open distance of burnt land. The darken monotone land was filled with the burnt leftover stumps of trees and broken remains of branches. The air that surrounded us was somber and stiff with the loss of the land full of life that had been here previously. No longer were there sounds of the wind through leaves or animal chatter through the trees, just silence. Sokka's voice sliced through the stale air, "Listen, it's so quiet. There's no life anywhere." Then the silence was back.

"Aang, are you ok?" At the sound of Katara's voice, I tore my eyes away from the distant horizon over to where Aang stood gravely viewing over the burnt area.

"Fire Nation!" Sokka shouted abruptly causing me to quickly flash my eyes over to him. He was knelt down to the ground observing the footprints left behind by the fire starters. As Sokka yelled, he stood up and turned to us, "Those evil savages make me sick! They have no respect for – "

Katara interrupted her brother as quickly as he had begun, "Shh!"

"What? I'm not allowed to be angry?" Sokka, in a whisper, questioned his sister's reply with his hands on his hips. Katara turned her head and her finger to Aang who collapsed onto the ground sending up a cloud of ash. I let out a soft and sad sigh under my breath at my friend who dejectedly ran his hand through the burnt residue of the earth.

After a few moments of quiet, Aang began to speak to us, "Why would anyone do this? How could I let this happen?" While he spoke, he let the ash fall from his hand. As the ash fell, it caught in a silent breeze to be carried away to another place.

"Aang, you didn't let this happen," Katara spoke gently, slowly stepping closer to Aang in an attempt to comfort him. "It has nothing to do with you."

"Yes it does," Aang countered her remark while sitting down on the ground. "It's the Avatar's job to protect nature. But, I don't know how to do my job." I saw his shoulders bob up and then back down as he sluggishly shrugged his shoulders.

Katara continued on with a hopefulness in her speech, "That's why we're going to the North Pole to find you a teacher."

"Yeah, a waterbending teacher," He turned his head around to look at Katara over his shoulder. It seemed as if maybe Katara had broken through his sadness, but as he continued on he turned his head away and hung it dejectedly once again, "but there's no one who can teach me how to be the Avatar. Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me."

Sokka called out in question to Aang at this statement, "The Avatar before you? He died over a hundred years ago, how are you supposed to talk to him?

Aang glanced over his shoulder while Sokka asked his question and quickly looked away. To Sokka's question, Aang muttered out, "I don't know." Seeing his distress, Momo jumped into Aang's lap and began to chitter happily. Aang gently started to pat his back but did not seem to improve in mood.

There was a moment of awkward silence between us and I figured it was my turn to try and cheer Aang up. I rubbed my hands against my sides as I moved forward to Aang. I crouched down near Aang and put a comforting hand on his back. The boy looked up at me with big, sad eyes that made my heart ache with pain. While rubbing my hand on his back, I spoke, "Don't worry about it, Aang. I'm sure that you'll figure things out. Maybe Roku has a way of contacting you."

I tried to sound hopeful and positive about the situation, but the look on Aang's face told me that it did not get across to him. He gave me a small, sad smile before focusing on petting Momo. Seeing that I was not helping, I awkwardly stood back up and turned back to Katara and Sokka. They both gave me a questioning look; to which I gave a defeated shrug. I wandered around the little clearing we had landed in while Aang thought through whatever he need to think through. I crossed my arms and the silence of the burnt land surrounded the four of us again.

After a while, I was drawn out of my thoughts as Katara called out to Aang, "Hey Aang, are you ready to be cheered up?" I looked up to see Katara walking over to Aang with her hands behind her back holding something. Aang still sat on the ground and looked as if he hadn't moved at all during our stay here.

"No." Aang gave short and miserable replied from the ball of gloom he had curled up into. I watched as an acorn flew out of Katara's hand to the side of Aang's head where it slammed into before flying off in a ricochet of force. "Ow!" Aang yelped being pulled out of his gloomy thoughts and turned to Katara. I placed a hand over my mouth, hiding my smile and silent laughter. Aang rubbed the side of his head as he looked up at Katara, "Hey, how was that cheering me up?"

"Hehe, cheered me up," Sokka chuckled under his breath from his spot on the ground. Before he had time to do anything else, Sokka was whacked in the head by an acorn from Katara. "Ow! Yeah, I probably deserved that." This time, I was the one who chuckled as Sokka held his head.

I jogged over to Aang and Katara as Katara knelt down and started talking to Aang, "These acorns are everywhere, Aang." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Momo dig around in the ash to come up with cheeks full of acorns, emphasizing Katara's statement. I chuckled quietly at the animal before kneeling down next to Katara. "That means the forest will grow back. Every one of these will be a tall oak tree someday, and all the birds and animals that lived here will come back." Katara took an acorn and placed it in the palm of Aang's hand. She closed his hand over it and looked up at him smiling.

Aang smiled happily back at her, "Thanks, Katara."

"Yeah, Forest fires can actually be healthy for a forest," I stood up and gestured to the land around me. "It allows for seeds of trees to spread, it allows for minerals to cover the ground and flow into water for new life, and it allows smaller plants to grow healthy. Kind of like a rebirth."

Suddenly Katara gasped, calling our attention to where she stared wide-eyed. At the entrance of the clearing, stood an old, balding man who strode over to us using a walking cane. He wore a worn-down robe with a shawl covering his shoulders. "Hey, who are you?" Sokka called out to him as he approached us.

His comment was quickly bypassed by the old man who walked straight passed him without so much as a glance. The old man stopped when he had arrived in front of Aang, "When I saw the flying bison, I thought it was impossible, but those markings... are you the Avatar child?" Aang looked over his shoulder at Katara, needing her advice on what to do. Katara nodded her head, telling Aang that it was ok for him to go on ahead. Aang turned back around, facing the old man, and firmly nodded his head yes. I couldn't help the small surge of pride that filled me to see Aang growing as a person. They grow up so fast, don't they? At Aang's response, the old man continued, "My village desperately needs your help."

.

We slowly walked into the village as the sun gradually disappeared behind the hills. The sight of the village brought a frown to my face. The buildings were damaged with whole halves of buildings missing. Some remnants of the buildings were simply the leftover skeleton structures, while others just had minor burn damage to them. It was plain to see that something horrible and destructive had been happening to this village. We walked through the center of the village and up the steps of the main building. As we entered in, it was easy to see that most of the village was probably hiding away in this main building.

Seeing that we had entered, a man, most likely the chief, came over to greet us. The old man who had guided us here stepped forward and introduced us, or I should say Aang, "This young person is the Avatar."

The Chief stood tall and proud over us with his traditional green outfit and brown updo, "So the rumors of your return are true." The Chief bowed to Aang before he paid his respect for Aang in words, "It is the greatest honor of a lifetime to be in your presence."

"Nice to meet you too," Aang casually bowed back to the man. How he could so casually take the statement of 'it is the greatest honor of a lifetime to be in your presence' I don't know? It was a pretty strong statement and it kind of made me feel panicky just because I was friends with Aang. "So...is there something I can help you with?"

The Chief looked away from Aang as he spoke, "I'm not sure..." I don't know whether the man didn't want to tell Aang what was happening or if he thought that Aang just wouldn't be able to help.

Seeing that the Chief was hesitant to tell us of what had been happening, for whatever reason, the old man stepped over to him and urged him on, "Our village is in crisis, he's our only hope." After hearing his villager's words, the Chief nodded, telling him that it was ok to share with us what had been happening for the past few days. "For the last few days at sunset, a spirit monster comes and attacks our village." At his words, Katara turned around and looked out at the horizon, seeing that it was sunset at this moment. This meant that the problem of the spirit monster would be appearing on the doorstep at any moment. "He is Hei-Bai, the black and white spirit."

"Why is it attacking you?" Sokka softly asked.

The Chief looked up at the question, being pulled out of the hurt state he had been in. "We do not know, but each of the last three nights he has abducted one of our own." As he spoke, he moved passed us to the door of the hut. He stared out with a mournful expression, "We are especially fearful because the winter solstice draws near."

"What happens then?" Katara asked we all stared out at the setting sun with anticipation growing of the monster that would soon appear.

"During the solstice, the line between the spirit world and the natural world grows to basically nonexistence," I recalled my knowledge to the group while I stared off into the distance with a mesmerized look. I shook off the feeling of blankness and turned to look over at the Chief, "I see why you'd be worried."

"Yes, indeed," the Chief nodded in response and turned back to explain more to us. "Hei-Bai is already causing devastation and destruction. Once the solstice is here there is no telling what will happen."

Even though the situation had been explained, Aang's face held a confused expression. "So, what do you want me to do exactly?" Aang shrugged in confusion as he spoke to the Chief.

"Who better to resolve a crisis between our world and the spirit world than the Avatar himself?" the old man explained why Aang was needed. He walked over and knelt down to be level with Aang. His expression was a happy one as he smiled at the boy. "You are the great bridge between man and spirits."

While the old man contained no worry about whether or not Aang could do this, Aang seemed very unsure of the dawning situation. "Right...that's me," Aang said, his feeling of being utterly unconfident sept obviously through his voice.

"Hey, 'great bridge guy'," Katara cut in, calling Aang's attention to her. "Can I talk to you over here for a second?" After seeing that she had Aang, Katara quickly and nervously walked over to a nearby window. I watched as Aang chased after her by my spot next to Sokka. It didn't take long for Sokka and me to join them over by the window.

"Aang, you seem a little unsure about all this," Katara commented to Aang with her eyebrow cocked in a questioning manner.

Aang spoke quickly and panicked with his back turned away from us, "Yeah, that might be because I don't know anything at all about the spirit world," At Aang's comment the three of us shared a worried glance. Seeing this, Aang continued on in an exasperated tone, "It's not like there's someone to teach me this stuff!"

"So, can you help these people?" Katara gesture to the villagers that were standing scattered around the room.

"I have to try, don't I? Maybe whatever I have to do will just... come to me," As Aang spoke, his mood shifted from doubtful to hopeful. He finished with a smile, which was paired with Momo suddenly jumping on his shoulder. After the initial shock, Aang smiled down at Momo as he happily chittered away.

Katara smiled softly at the boy as the sun shined in through the window, making her look like a shining Angel, "I think you can do it, Aang."

"Yeah," I continued the hopeful tone of the group. "Maybe it's one of those things you just gotta," I gestured a firm hand slice through the air, "do. Like pulling off a Band-Aid, or jumping into cold water." I realized after this statement that I don't think they had Band-Aids in this world…but it was too late for me. Either way, they didn't seem to notice my mention of an unheard of object.

The four of us continued to smile happily. Sokka, however, being Sokka, continued on in his cynical, pessimistic views, "Yeahhh, we're all gonna get eaten by a spirit monster."

I backhandedly slapped his shoulder lightly, "You're gonna get eaten by a spirit monster, and only you. You with your pessimistic attitude." I gave him a sassy stare while he replied to my comment with a glare.

.

I stood between Sokka and Katara as we watched Aang walk down the center of the village and wait to meet Hei-Bai. Looking out at the horizon, the sun was cradled in between the trees, slowly fading away, but still no Hei-Bai. In the hut, we could faintly hear Aang shouting out to the spirit of the forest, "Hello? Spirit, can you hear me? This is the Avatar speaking. I'm... here to try to help stuff."

Next to me, I felt Sokka slouch over against the ledge of the window, frustration almost radiating off of him, "This isn't right. We can't sit here and cower while Aang waits for some monster to show up."

"If anyone can save us, he can," The same old man from earlier spoke from behind us.

Sokka pulled back from the window while he spoke; once the old man finished, Sokka slumped back over the window sill with the same frustration surrounding him, "He still shouldn't have to face this alone."

I crossed my arms, leaning away from the window, "But what even would we do if we did go out to help? It's not exactly like any of us know anything about spirits or how to deal with them. If anything, we'd probably just get in the way." Sokka gave me a side glance before looking away and grumbling. I spoke not only to try and reason with Sokka but also to reason with myself. I know that there was nothing that I could do to help, but that still didn't mean that I wanted to leave Aang out there all by his lonesome.

At a decently rapid rate, the sunset over the horizon leaving us in the darkness of the early night. Momo jumped up into my arms and I cradled him, petting him gently as we watched Aang. "The sun has set. Where are you, Hei-Bai?" Aang shouted by the village gates to whatever spirit might be listening. "Well, spirit, uh, I hereby ask you to please leave this village in peace!" Aang twirled his staff and pounded it to the ground before he turned and started walking back to the main hut that we hid in.

Suddenly, a large creature emerged from the forest behind Aang. My eyes opened in shock and my heart beat away in fear for Aang. Aang continued to walk calmly in front of the spirit, oblivious to the threat looming behind him. I began to worriedly stroke Momo as Aang finally began to sense that something was following him. Aang turned around and faced the gigantic beast that loomed over him. I couldn't hear what Aang was saying to the spirit, but whatever it was, the spirit did not seem too pleased with it as it roared a blue light beam that enveloped Aang in its glow. It continued on its upset rampage, standing up on its hind legs and shooting another blue light beam into the air. Hei-Bai then proceeded to go forward and start destroying the village. Hei-Bai demolished some buildings while only damaging others, all the while, Aang trailed behind him in attempts to get him to stop, or at least I assumed from my spot by the window.

"The Avatar's methods are..." The Chief cautiously began to say but was interrupted by debris flying and hitting the window. I hugged Momo to my chest and turned my back to the debris while the others around me ducked from the flying pieces of wood. "Unusual," The Chief finished his comment of concern.

"It doesn't seem too interested in what he's saying," Sokka said while standing on edge with his hands clasping at the window sill and looked as if he would jump out the window at any moment if required. "Maybe we should go help him?" Sokka turned around to look at the Chief to answer his question.

The Chief had no time to answer the question, though, as the old man cut in abruptly, "No, only the Avatar stands a chance against the Hei-Bai."

"Aang will figure out the right thing to do, Sokka," Katara said to her brother trying to calm his nerves. We went back to watching the 'fight' between the spirit and Aang. Hei-Bai continued to destroy the village, and really, I was surprised that there was anything left standing in the village with how the spirit was going off on it.

Aang, not being discouraged, continued to try and talk calmly to the spirit. He airbended himself up onto the roof and stood talking. We couldn't really hear most of what he was yelling at the beast, but suddenly we heard Aang yell vociferously at the beast, "I command you to turn around now!" Apparently, we were not the only ones that heard the cry as Hei-Bai turned around to face Aang. Without a second thought, the spirit back swiped Aang off the roof sending him flying through the air and onto a nearby roof. I cringed in pain for him as his slid off the roof and collapsed on the ground below.

"That's it! He needs help!" Sokka yelled finally giving into his desire to help Aang. He spun hastily around and rushed off, knocking into me in the process and causing Momo to leap out of my arms.

"Sokka wait!" Katara called out to her brother before rushing past me.

The velocity at which the siblings rushed past me, left me momentarily dazed as I tried to recover from what had just happened to me. It didn't take long for me to shake off the confusion and rush after Sokka as well. As Sokka rushed out the door into the village, I called after him, "Sokka!"

Before either Katara or I could get out the door, the old man stopped us, "It's not safe!" Katara and I shared a worried glance with each other then looked out to the outside where Sokka ran up the giant spirit. Standing behind the spirit, Sokka pulled out his boomerang and held it ready. "Hei-Bai! Over here!" As Sokka shouted up at the beast, he flung his boomerang into the air. It sliced through the air and hit the butt of the spirit with a tiny impact before lethargically dropping to the ground. After his attack, Sokka ran over to Aang and talked with the boy. It was while they were talking that Hei-Bai quickly snuck up on them and snatched Sokka up in his hand before heading towards the exit of the village. At this sight, Katara broke out in a run after the monster and I quickly followed after her. Aang opened up his glider and took off flying after Hei-Bai and Sokka before either of us got to the exit.

"Sokka!" Katara shouted into the forest as she arrived at the gate, but obviously too late to save her brother. I slowed my run and watched the girl look around before slumping in disappointment and sadness. I gingerly made my way over to the girl and stood beside her, clutching my arm awkwardly. I opened my mouth, ready to say something comforting to the girl, but I found that there were no words to say. I didn't know what to say that would make this all better; I didn't know what to do to make Katara feel better. So, instead, I shut my mouth, looked down at the ground, and didn't do anything.

.

I walked out to the gates with two blankets folded over my arm. I approached Katara, who had refused to stay inside while Aang and Sokka were gone. Instead, in the dead of night, she sat at the entrance of the village. I had decided that I needed to do something to cheer Katara up, so I wasn't just going to let her sit out here by herself. I stood over Katara, looking down upon the girl. "Hey, why don't you come inside and get some rest."

Katara looked up at me as I spoke. I saw a mixture of sadness and determination in her eyes. She stared for a minute before she cast her gaze back over to the forest, "I can't. I have to stay here and wait for Sokka."

I shook my head at her stubbornness and knew that this was an unwinnable battle. "There's no convincing you, is there?" I sighed down at her. She tossed a smile over at me. I smiled back before taking a seat next to her on the ground. She gave me a confused look at my action. I did not answer her confusion and, instead, unfolded the blankets from my arm, handing one over to her. "Here. If you're going to stay out here, at least you should be warm." It wasn't freezing outside, but there was a chill in the air.

She looked down at the blanket that sat in her lap with confusion for a moment. Once her confusion of my action wore off, she sent me a warm smile. "Thanks," Katara replied before taking the blanket and wrapping it around her shoulders.

I stared over at the stubborn and determined girl. It was clear there was no moving her, but that didn't mean that I was just gonna let her sit out here by herself all night. I would be with her and if that didn't cheer her up at least she won't be lonely. "Well, I guess, since you don't want to go inside to rest, you can use my lap as a pillow," I spoke matter-of-factly to the clearly exhausted girl. At my words, I saw Katara open her mouth to start arguing. I quickly silenced her with a wave of my hand, "No, no, no! No arguing. You need rest and this way we'll be right here if Aang or Sokka get back."

She gave me a half -determined, half-annoyed stare but complied to my wishes. She leaned over and place her head in my lap and sighed, "Thanks, Rachelle." I thought I might have heard tears in her voice, but Katara shut her eyes and headed off to sleep. I sweetly smiled down at the girl. I looked up and out to the forest before us. I leaned my head against the fence and started stroking Katara's hair as she fell asleep. A cool, calming breeze went through the air as I stared off into oblivion thinking of Aang and Sokka. I knew that they would be back, but there still was a pang in my chest for them, hoping that everything would be fine. Somehow, I could no longer find the strength to keep my eyes open and I fell into sleep's peaceful arms.

.

I groggily shifted my position as sleep faded away. Sitting up straight, I rubbed my eyes and yawn from the all to early wake up call. Opening my eyes, I could see Katara had already awoken and was sitting beside me. She still looked exhausted, but she looked more rested than what she had been earlier. Seeing that I had woke up, Katara turned her head to glance at me. She gave me a welcoming smile, not saying anything more, and I returned the gesture. Yawning once more, I spread my legs out in front of me and leaned back on my arms. I let my head lean back, gravity pulling it down as much as my neck would allow it. I closed my eyes and listened to the world around us. Many sounds had taken occupation in the forest. Birds chirped and cicadas sang their annoying buzz. The liveliness of the forest led me to believe that soon the morning sun would be upon us with another day to make it through. With my eyes closed and the dreariness of sleep still upon me, I wished nothing more than for some extra sleep. Opening my eyes back to the world, out of the corner of my eye, I could see the old man from the day before strolling up to us. As he walked up beside Katara, I sat up, straightening my back and pulling in my legs. I looked up to the man as he spoke down to Katara and me, "I'm sure they'll be back."

"I know," Katara stated, unhesitant, without a hint of doubt in her voice. Even though she sounded so sure of this fact, she still mournfully stared out to the forest, blankly ignoring the rest of the world around her.

The old man sadly stared down at the girl for a moment. After no change in state from Katara, he continued on, "You should get some more rest, both of you." He glanced over at my direction and I gave a reserved smile back.

Katara's grip on Sokka's boomerang tightened as she stared out, "Everything's gonna be okay." As she spoke, she sank down into herself and turned away from the forest she had been monotonously staring at for who knows how long. I turned towards the girl, one of my hands grabbing hers and the other rubbing circles on her back in an effort to comfort her.

Seeing Katara's distraught state, the old man knelt down to her and spoke gently, "Your brother is in good hands. I would be shocked if the Avatar returned without him." As we sat the gate talking, the sun slowly started to rise over the village. The sunbeams fell into my eyes causing me to look up at the sky. "The sun is rising. Perhaps he will return soon." At this comment, I spun my head around and scanned the area of the forest. Wasn't Aang supposed to be here is his spirit from? I didn't see him, but I don't really know why I would. Hopefully, if I remember correctly, he was there.

Nothing happened, though, whether or not Aang was there, and soon, the old man stood up and walked back up to the main house, leaving Katara and me out by the gate alone. We chatted a bit about meaningless nothings, but most of the time we just sat in a sad-but-hopeful silence. It hadn't been too long when grunt from Appa drew our attention towards the giant beast. Standing there, I couldn't help but think that, somehow, Appa knew about the sadness in our hearts and the missing of Aang and Sokka. Although the two of us looked up him, we did not make any motion to move. This did not seem to be enough for Appa and he grunted again at us, slightly louder this time.

I laughed at the beast, "Ok, Appa, we're listening." I reached up and petted him with a hand.

Katara did much the same as she spoke comforting words to him, "It's ok, Appa. I'm sure they're on their way back." As she spoke, the two of us stood up and started walking back into the village with Appa trailing behind us. "I bet they even found you a bunch of moon peaches for a treat."

"Enough moon peaches for a king, even!" I made a large hand gesture.

As we walked into the village, one of the villagers offered to go get Appa some hay to eat. I stroked Appa as he ate his hay happily. Katara did much the same but seemed to still be lost within her own mind. Suddenly, she seemed to be pulled out of her own mind and looked up at me, "Do you think that it would be a good idea to take Appa out to look for them?"

"Hm," I pursed my lips as I thought of her suggestion. "It couldn't hurt. Even if we don't find either of the boys, at least it will give us something to do."

"Sounds good!" Katara chirped, sounding actually happy for the first time since Sokka and Aang had disappeared.

"Buuuut," I said getting Katara to do a double take as she started to get ready. "I have one condition." I let a mischievous grin appear on my face, "I get to be the one to fly Appa." Katara stared blank face at me, heavily blinking, then she burst out in boisterous laughter.

I joined in with her laughing and slowly she calmed down from her amusement. "Ok, ok," she sighed breathlessly. "You can be the one to fly Appa."

It wasn't long before I was sitting up on top of Appa's head with the reins in my hands. I turned the reins over in my palms while I smiled like a madman. "You ready for this, Katara?" Katara gave me nod with an entertained smile on her face, taking amusement from my excitement to fly Appa. My stomach was filled with my excitement and some fear at what I was about to do. Letting out a deep breath, I opened my mouth and said the magic words, "Yip. Yip." My stomach flipped as Appa took off into the sky. As we flew through the air, wind in our hair, I shouted into the sky, "Woo! I am flying a ten-ton magical beast!" Katara joyfully laughed beside me causing me to smile at her. At least I could do something to make her smile again if nothing else.

Slowly the excitement died down and we started on our reconnaissance mission. We spent about an hour flying over the forest trying to find Aang or Sokka, but we found neither. Both of us were exhausted and tired of looking. With a sense of defeat in the air, I let out I sigh looked at Katara with questioning eyes. "It's no use, Rachelle," Katara said defeated. "We haven't been able to see them anywhere. Our best hope is to go back to the village and wait."

I let out a disappointed sigh, turning her words over in my head. "I suppose you're correct," I pulled the reins to the side and started flying us back to the village. We arrived back at the village and spent the rest of the day just wandering around, not really doing anything of any use. Just waiting. The sun began to set over the hills, just like it had the day before. The old man had coaxed us into staying in the main house of the village. Although, we didn't really need any coaxing to stay inside and away from the giant and quite angry spirit monster. Katara and I stood in front of the doors with men just waiting to close the doors and shut us in. I stopped going into the building as I saw Katara pause and look out over her shoulder at the village. She turned her back on the sun with sadness falling upon her face. I turned back around and wrapped my arm around her back in an attempt to comfort her. As she looked up at me, we shared a sad smile at the turn of events. I looked up from the girl to see a distant Aang flying back to the village. My face lit up as I called out, "Aang!"

At my shout, Katara turned around and saw Aang on his glider. "You're back!" Katara happily shouted as we ran down to Aang. The both of us wrapped him up in a hug and then slowly pulled back. Katara looked around and realized that something was missing, "Where's Sokka?"

Aang's eyes widen with a painful shame at the question. "I'm not sure," Aang said lowering his head as if he was ashamed at not bring Sokka back.

.

Katara and I stood at the same window that we had been standing at the evening before. Once again, the sun had set over the hill, leaving only a dreary night light to light up the view of the village. Aang stood alone at the gate. The sound of animals and insects of the forest filled our ears accompanied by the wind brushing through the leaves of the trees. There was something in the air, an anticipation, that made my skin crawl. As the time passed by, Aang seemed to give up on waiting and started to walk back through the village. The wind vibrated through a wind chime creating a ring through the air as if a warning bell going off. Abruptly, the same spirit monster from the night before burst through the roof one of the huts. The spirit reared up and let out blue energy from its mouth. As debris from the roof rain down on Aang, he cried out, creating an air bubble around himself which acted as a shield.

At the sight, Katara yelled out to Aang, "Aang, what are you doing? Run!" While her message was definitely heard by Aang, it was also most definitely heard by the spirit. The spirit turned its back on Aang and rushed forward to the building that we stood in, along with everyone in the village. Luckily, before the spirit had time to do anything, Aang rushed forward and jumped into the air. As Aang floated down over the spirit, he laid his hand down on the forehand of the black and white spirit. A blue glow originated under Aang's hand as, somehow, a connection was made between Aang and the spirit. Gently, Aang jumped down to the porch and stood in front of Hei-Bai with understanding coming over him.

"You're the spirit of this forest. Now I understand," Aang spoke to the giant spirit monster. Surprisingly, the spirit did not make any motion to move while Aang spoke. Instead, it stayed still and listened to the boy. "You're upset and angry because your home was burned down. When I saw the forest had burned I was sad and upset. But my friend gave me hope that the forest would grow back." Aang took the acorn Katara had given him earlier out of his pocket and held it up to the spirit. After letting the spirit get a look at the seed, Aang laid the acorn down on the porch. Hei-Bai, somehow with its giant fingers, picked up the tiny acorn and held it in its fingertips. It turned the object over in its hand, looking over it and Aang's words. The spirit shifted from the giant monster into a giant panda as it turned and walked away from the village. We rushed out the door at the sight of the spirit leaving. Katara and I stood by Aang as Hei-Bai approached the gate. As the panda spirit exited, a thicket of bamboo grew rapidly from the ground behind him. From the bamboo emerge the lost villagers who had been taken, including Sokka.

"Sokka!" Katara yelled, wasting no time in running up to her brother and wrapping him in a joyous hug.

While other villagers did much the same to their loved ones, I stood beside Aang. I wrapped one around his shoulders, giving him a side-hug, "See, I knew that you would figure it out. No doubt in my mind." Aang sheepishly smiled at me. I gave him a pat on the back before I jogged up to Katara and Sokka.

"How are you feeling?" I caught the end of Katara's statement to her brother.

At her comment, Sokka shifted around awkwardly before a pained expression took over his face, "Like I seriously need to use the bathroom!"

I shook my head slightly at the boy. Sokka will always be Sokka. As Sokka turned to most likely run off to use the bathroom, he saw me walking up with my arms crossed over my chest. He stopped and stared at me while I glanced at him with a sly look. "See," I said with faux smugness. "I told you you would get eaten by a spirit monster."

Sokka gave me a 'are you kidding me' look before he narrowed his eyes in thought. He reached up and stroked his chin as he thought, "Well, technically, I wasn't eaten by a spirit monster, I was just kidnapped."

I rolled my eyes at the boy, laughing at his comment. "Oh, come on, yah big oaf and just give me a hug," I said spreading my arms wide for a hug. I wrapped my arms around Sokka and hugged him tightly. We both tried to squeeze each other as hard as we could. We released each other and stepped back with matching grins on our face.

Sokka's grin, however, quickly slipped from his face, "No, but seriously, I really need to use the bathroom." Without so much as a second glance, Sokka ran off to find somewhere to use the bathroom.

After a while, everyone seemed to settle down and the four of us stood facing the Chief. The Chief was flanked by four villagers of whom I could only assume had some important role in the village. "Thank you, Avatar," The Chief spoke to us. "If there only were a way to repay you for what you've done."

"You could give us some supplies and some money," Without skipping a beat, Sokka suggested a way the village could help us.

"Sokka!" Katara quickly jumped on her brother, elbowing him in the stomach for his remark.

"What?" He replied exasperated, not feeling the slightest impolite from his comment. "We need stuff." He shrugged his shoulders and acted as if he was just stating a simple fact.

The Chief didn't seem bothered by Sokka's comment. The man bowed to us and interrupted the sibling bickering, "It would be an honor to help you prepare for your journey." As the Chief finished, he turned and walked away to start making arrangements for the items we would need.

Now left by ourselves, Katara turned to Aang, setting a hand on his shoulder, "I'm so proud of you, Aang. You figured out what to do all on your own."

"Actually, I did have a little help," Aang replied to Katara's praise. "And there's something else." Aang lowered his head, getting lost in something that didn't seem very pleasant from the look on his face.

"What is it?" Sokka questioned.

"I need to talk to Roku and I think I've found a way to contact his spirit," Aang told us with a smile on his face, but there was something about the way Aang was acting that made me think there was something more to the story. Or maybe it was just because I knew that there was more to the story.

"That's great!" Katara chirped happily back at Aang, glad that he had somehow figured out a solution to his problem.

Sokka agreed with his sister, albeit, a bit more negatively, "Creepy, but great."

"There's a temple on a crescent shaped island, and if I go there on the solstice I'll be able to speak with him," Aang said this with a smile on his face even though this raised a problem.

I raised my eyebrows at the boy, "You do know that the solstice is tomorrow?"

The smile disappeared off of his face at the comment, "Yeah, and there's one more problem." Aang looked up at us as he spoke, "The island is in the Fire Nation." All three of our faces turned sour at his comment.

"Oh, good," I spoke sarcastically. "So, not that big of a problem."

* * *

So, what do you think? I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. There wasn't really much to do in the chapter I feel like. A lot of it is about Aang and him learning how to deal with spirit stuff. But I tried to involve Rachelle as much as I could and create an interesting chapter around her. It's a little bit later than what I wanted it to be, but that is only because I was in Costa Rica for ten days so I couldn't really write there.

Also, I just want to apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors in this story. I was never particularly great in English. It just never really was my strong point. I know writing and not being good at that stuff is kind of illogical, but I just really love writing and I get these ideas that I just want to get out of my head. I am trying my best. I've started using grammarly and I reread over all the chapters so many times before I post them. But no matter how much I try, I always seem to find more errors. Anyway, I apologize for any errors.

Hopefully, I will be picking up on speed of updating. My goal is to post a chapter every Saturday. I no longer have IB and college doesn't start for another couple months, so hopefully I can really get some progress done. I'm sorry for how absurdly long I've been taking with this story. I've literally been working on this story for over two years, and I think one of those years was just one chapter. But I will be better. Sorry for the long note, guess I just had a lot to say. So, hope you liked the chapter. Thanks for all the likes, favs, and reviews. If you have a comment or suggestion about the story, don't be afraid to leave a review or pm to tell me how you feel the story is going. Thanks!


	8. Avatar Roku (Winter Solstice Part 2)

Little FYI, in this chapter it switches from first person to third person towards the end, just to let you know.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

* * *

I was suddenly awoken from my sleep in the middle of the night by Katara shaking my shoulder. Shaking off the fogginess of sleep, I sat up to see Katara crouched down beside me. I opened my mouth to ask Katara what was going on, only to close it again when Katara lifted a finger to her mouth signaling for me to be quiet. Katara motioned for me to follow her as she got up and exited the room. I followed behind her, exiting the dark room where patrons slept into the bright main room where a few villagers still stood awake. I squinted my eyes at the change of light as Katara took no time in racing across the room to where Sokka stood by the doors. I almost had to jog to keep up with Katara's pace. Seeing us approaching, Sokka uncrossed his arms and turned towards us. "Finally," Sokka spoke with an annoyed and rushed tone. I really felt like we couldn't have taken that long of a time, but I pushed these thoughts aside at the worry that Sokka had on his face.

I turned to Katara with questioning eyebrows, hoping that she would explain what was going on. Seeing my confusion, Katara took a moment to tell me what was going on, "Aang's gone, snuck off somewhere. We don't know where he went, but we need to spilt up to go look for him."

I raised my hand to my forehead and heavily sighed in annoyance. I remembered now that Aang had run off to try and go to the Fire Nation alone. It kind of hurt that Aang thought that he could just leave us behind. I know that he just wanted to protect us, but we were the Aang Gaang and we stuck together. Before we had time to do any searching at all, a roar from Appa resonated in the air. "Well," I said evenly. "Looks like we found him." Sokka opened up the door and stepped outside with Katara and me following him. We weren't the only ones who heard Appa's roar and the villagers who had been standing the room still awake joined us outside. We stood in front of the hut in the dark looking at the sight that unfolded before us. There, in the center of the village, stood a resistant Appa being led by Aang. I placed my hands on my hips as I watched the scene in front of me.

"Look, I'm sorry, but Katara, Sokka, and Rachelle aren't coming to the Fire Nation with us. If they got hurt, I'd never forgive myself," Aang solemnly talked to Appa, trying to get the beast to see the logic in what he was doing. As Aang continued on, fire was added to his voice, "So get your big butt off the ground and let's go!" Aang tugged with all his might on the reins, trying to get Appa to move, but Appa refused to budge from his spot. With Appa remaining immovable, Aang fell backwards from the release of force as he stopped trying to pull the creature forward. Aang sat on the ground with a dejected frown on his face and the three of us moved forward deciding it was time for us to do a thing.

"I think his big butt is trying to tell you something," Sokka was the first one to call out, getting Aang to search around from where his voice had come from. His gaze landed on us and his eyebrows shot up at our appearance.

"Like maybe you shouldn't be leaving us," I shrugged my shoulders casually at the boy. "And sneaking off into the Fire Nation."

"Please don't go, Aang. The world can't afford to lose you to the Fire Nation," Katara begged Aang to reconsider his actions. Her voice quivered as she continued on, "Neither can I." She tightened her hands together tightly as she stared down the boy sitting on the ground. Her words were quite emotional and Aang paused for a moment thinking them over.

It seemed for a moment that Katara had actually gotten him to change his mind. However, after the moment of thinking, Aang jumped up in a rush, "But I have to talk to Avatar Roku to find out what my vision means. I need to get to the Fire Temple before the sun sets on the Solstice. That's today." As he finished, Aang jumped up onto Appa's head, taking the reins in his hands. Aang looked back with a regretful look at us standing on the ground. The boy turned his head around and started Appa forward.

We didn't even allow Appa to get in a few steps before we jumped in front of the giant animal and stop Aang from progressing. Katara spoke to Aang first, "We're not letting you go into the Fire Nation, Aang."

"At least not without your friends," Sokka stood with his hand on his hip. As he continued on, he crossed his arms nonchalantly, "We got your back."

"You seriously didn't think that we were gonna let you do this alone?" I chuckled at the boy. "You go into perilous danger," I pointed up at Aang, then pointed back at myself, "We go into perilous danger." Momo jumped on Aang's arm, almost as if the little lemur was agreeing with what we were saying. Aang smiled down at the little guy then back to us. The three of us smiled back up at him, happy that together we were a team.

Appa also showed his agreement of the situation by sticking out his tongue and licking Sokka and me with it. Sokka was not too pleased by the event and cried, "Ewwww!" It was one of the strangest feelings in the world, being licked by a giant tongue. It wasn't quite nice, as the tongue was scratchy and got you covered in spit, but Appa was so adorable that I guess it was ok.

Trying to ignore the fact that I was now covered in bison spit, I listened to the Chief as he talked to Aang, "It's a long journey to the Crescent Island." He reached up and handed Aang a bundle of stuff for us. "You'll have to fly fast to have any chance of making it before sundown. Good luck." As the Chief spoke words of advice to Aang, the three of us got up onto Appa's saddle and got ready for the long flight ahead of us.

"Thank you, for your..." Aang started to thank the Chief for all the gifts of both objects and advice.

The Chief interrupted Aang with urgency in his voice. "Go!" He shouted at Aang, pointing off to the sky. At the Chief's words, Aang hastily took off into the sky and the journey of today began.

Slowly the night faded away into day as the sun came above the horizon. The four of us looked at the rising sun and thought of the long trip ahead of us. We had only just started and we had a long way to go. "Come on, boy!" Aang called out to Appa who had settled into a calm and steady pace. "We've got a long way to go! Faster!" At Aang's words, Appa flapped his tail, propelling us forward at a faster rate. Appa growled in agreement to what Aang had said and the wind blew our hair back as we sped through the sky.

We weren't far away from the Fire Nation border and it wouldn't be long until we ran into Fire Nation problems. For this reason, Katara, Sokka and I were overlooking the saddle at the ocean below scouting for problems. I looked behind us, over Appa's tail, for any problems behind us, while Sokka and Katara scouted the sides, and Aang scouted the front. These positions are what allowed me to be the first person to see the ship gaining on us from behind. This ship belonged to the one and only prince of the Fire Nation: Zuko. "Ugh!" I stridently exhaled in annoyance, giving an oversize gesture to the ship below. "Off course, he'd be here."

At my exclamation, Sokka and Katara rushed over to my side and looked out to where the ship was. Katara crouched over my shoulder with panic on her face. "Aang, we got trouble," She hurriedly spoke back to Aang.

Sokka popped his head over Katara and, with panic, took in the situation, "Yeah, and it's gaining fast!" At our comments, Aang turned his head around and took in a quick scene of what was happening behind us. The look on his face as he did this did not exactly exude confidence.

Looking down at the ship below, I could see the catapult being raised from a lower deck. I felt fear drop into my stomach at the situation that we had gotten ourselves into…the situation I had gotten myself into. I gulped deeply, stared plainly, and felt like I had momentarily stopped breathing. Must be brave, just gotta be brave. You can do this, Rachelle. No problem. "Dealing with just the Fire Nation alone was too easy," I turned around to face Katara and Sokka, making a sarcastic comment to make me feel better. "Now we have to deal with Prince Ponytail."

Sokka let out a strident laugh, "Prince Ponytail?" He laughed harshly some more and slapped me on my back. "That's a good one, Rachelle!" I felt like maybe Sokka was finding this a little bit funnier than it actually was, but his amusement put me slightly more at ease, even if it didn't take away the underlying fear. Katara just shook her head at the two of us.

Turning back around and focusing on the problem at hand, we were just in time to see the catapult being fired. A fireball was release and now zoomed towards us. Fun. "Fireball!" Katara yelled back to Aang as the fireball become bigger and bigger the closer it got to us.

Aang looked over his shoulder back to Katara as she spoke to him. "I'm on it!" Aang called back as he turned around. I tightly gripped the saddle so hard my knuckles turned white as Aang pulled on Appa's reins getting the giant beast to swerve out of the way of the giant fireball. My stomach lurched to the side as my arms were the only thing that kept me from flying off into the air. The fireball sailed over our heads, so close I could feel the heat radiating off of it. It was absolutely terrifying, and it was only going to get worse from here.

As the fireball passed by, Aang straightened Appa up and things returned to a momentary calm state. I loosened my death grip on the saddle and sat up straight regaining my breath. Taking a deep breath, I smelt the horrible stench that filled the air left over from the fireball. Covering my nose, I turned over to Aang with Katara and Sokka by my side, "God, that stinks!"

Both of the siblings had their noses covered as well and seemed disgusted in a similar manner as me. "We have to get out of Zuko's range before he shoots another hot stinker at us!" Katara called down to Aang.

"Can't you make Appa go any faster?" Sokka leaned over the saddle as he asked Aang his question. Aang glanced up at Sokka out of the corner of his eye pinching his own nose from the smell.

"Yeah," Aang stated as he looked forward. "But there's just one little problem." At his statement, the rest of us looked up at what held his gaze. Our eyes widened at the sight before us. There was a giant blockade that ran through the water up ahead. Double lined Fire Nation ships stretched as far as the eye could see in both directions. Each ship contained multiple trebuchets just waiting to be used. Saying I was scared was a major understatement. I knew that this would be here, this blockade, but actually seeing it, it was crazy. The scale of it all, of everything. It's just like how I knew that Zuko would be sending a fireball at us, but living it and viewing it were two very different experiences. Everything going on here made me feel like I was curling up into my stomach with fear.

"If we fly north, we can go around the Fire Nation ships and avoid the blockade. It's the only way," Aang looked over his shoulder and called back to us shooting out ideas that we could use.

Katara immediately shut down the idea calling down at Aang, "There's no time."

Aang turned around and looked at Katara with firm eyes, "This is exactly why I didn't want you to come. It's too dangerous."

Katara held his gaze with the determination that she always had within her. She spoke back with a firm tone and held Aang's gaze, "And that's exactly why we're here."

Katara saying this, reminded me of why we were here, of what we were doing. Sure it was dangerous, sure it was scary, but Aang needed to do this and he needed us to be with him. I let out a deep sigh and looked out at the long line of ships, "If you can't go around, go through."

"Let's run this blockade," Sokka energetically shouted to us. We shared a grin and I gave a high-five to Sokka as we got ready to run the Fire Nation blockade. I grabbed ahold of the saddle and got ready for the crazy, dangerous ride that was about to happen. I was still scared, but a part of me was excited.

"Appa! Yip Yip!" Aang called out to the sky bison. Appa growled in affirmation before we swiftly took off flying into the blockade. It wasn't long before flying balls of flames came racing towards us. My gripped tightened, ducking down, and all of us screamed at the incoming danger. It was quite a scary sight: at least dozen fireballs flying directly towards us hundreds of feet in the air over an ocean. Appa and Aang worked together to swerve, dive and dip out of the way of the incoming danger. We passed through this minefield of flying objects as fire and smoke trails surrounded us. With my knuckles white and my palms sweaty, I had never felt more alive and more dead at the same time. Somehow, maybe talent, we had almost made it out of the minefield of fireballs mostly unscratched.

Just when we thought the end had fallen so gracefully into our laps, two fireballs collided into each other creating an explosion of rock, smoke and ash. We flew through the messy remains but came out ok on the other side, if a little bit dirty. Unfortunately for Appa, the hot remains of the collisions had collected on his fur. The four of us, that was Katara, Sokka, Momo, and I, jumped into action in removing this problem for Appa. Quickly, I grabbed my fan from its place by my waist and used it to flick away the burning ash from Appa's back.

Seeing his furry friend in pain, Aang called out to Appa, "Appa! Are you ok?" Appa let out a small rumble to Aang saying that he was fine. I smiled lightly at the strong animal and petted him lightly as we took off higher into the sky where the clouds would hide us.

We burst through the clouds and for a moment it felt like maybe we could breathe. A few moments later, however, our breath was stolen away again and my heart leaped out of my chest. Another round of fireballs burst through the clouds almost underneath us. Aang swiftly swerved Appa to miss the ball of fire underneath. Panicked, the three of us on Appa's saddle gripped on for life and yelled. "Flying up in the clouds was not a good idea!" I shouted amidst the chaos around us. We ducked and dodged and dived around the fireballs shooting up through the clouds like fireworks being shot off in front of your face. We were on a battlefield in the sky with no prediction of where the bombardment would be coming from. I clung on as tightly as I could to the little ledge of the saddle, currently my only protection from pain and/or death. We watched in horror as two fireballs collided in an explosion in front of us. It all happened so fast as we entered into the hot remnants. Appa growled and reared up from the explosion, flinging us back. My arms were threatened to pop from their sockets as my hand and arm muscles fought to keep my hanging on.

Amidst my own struggle, I watched in absolute horror as Sokka was thrown from Appa. Both Katara and I screamed for Sokka as he was eaten by the clouds and disappeared from our sight, plummeting the ocean below. As quick as possible, Aang gripped onto Appa's reins and turned him around, screaming out, "Sokka!" We raced down almost at a vertical angle with the wind rushing around us. Appa swooped down and positioned himself beneath Sokka. Katara and I reached out for Sokka, each one of us taking an arm and pulling him back into the saddle. With Sokka back in the safety of the saddle, Appa hit the surface of the water with his legs before he gained enough upward momentum to ascend back into the sky.

As we began to ascend, a fish that had been thrown up from the water slapped Sokka in the face knocking him down. Luckily, the fish was not lost as Momo jumped up to catch the fish with his hands. "Good catch, you two! We'll need it if we get into a fishy situation!" I yelled boisterously to Sokka and Momo. Making this comment made me feel like I had lost my sanity in this situation and a joke was the only thing holding me together. Nobody had time to question my joke as another bombardment of fireballs was flung at us. Once again, we were back to Appa swerving back and forth to avoid the fireballs with the three of us hiding in the saddle to the best of our ability.

Peaking over the saddle, I watched as we drew closer and closer to the line of Fire Nation battleships. I gritted my teeth and waited for the next inevitable attack from the ships. This time only a single fireball was fired with a direct shot towards us. Every part of my body became a bit more strained as Aang leaped up from Appa and into the air. I watched as Aang assumed an airbending position and stayed on a collision course with the fireball. Aang did some type of airbending that shattered the fireball into a halo of smoke and debris that passed around Appa. We flew through the ring and watched as Aang started stumbling through the air. Aang landed forcefully back on Appa. The three of us reached down and helped stabilize Aang. Sokka and Katara grabbed Aang's arm and I held on to his bald, shiny head.

And just like that, it was over. We had done it. We had made it past the blockade and made it into the Fire Nation. I sat back up and let the tension in my body release as much as it would allow. From his seat upon Appa's head, Aang raised a fist into the air and joyfully shouted, "We made it!"

"We did it!" I shouted equally enthralled. Now that there was no longer any fear of being pummeled by a fireball, I felt pretty great. I had more adrenaline running through my body then I had ever had before and I couldn't take the grin off my face.

"We got into the Fire Nation..." Sokka mumbled from besides me in utter disbelief at what we had done. "Great..."

I let myself collapse back onto the saddle and stared up into the sky. I let out a joyful laugh and smiled. "Let's never do that again!" I made a downward swipe with my arms before the limbs collapsed by my side. I placed my hand over my heart and felt it beat wildly away in my chest. Wow, that was craziness I never thought I'd have to experience.

Luckily, we had a while before we reached the crescent shaped island. This time gave me a chance to calm down from the experience that I had gone through. My heart went back to its normal steady beat and I even took a small nap. Slowly and peacefully the sun arched over the sky and began to race towards the horizon. Looking at the position of the sun in the sky, I knew that we wouldn't be flying for very much longer. Sure enough, only moments later, Aang called out as he spotted the island that had snuck up on us, "There it is! The island Roku's dragon took me to!" We all jumped up and looked down below at Aang's declaration. Down in the water below was a crescent shaped island. The island itself was mostly just the volcano and the land was darkened rock from the cooled lava. The volcano was still active, sending smoke into the air and streams of lava down the side. As we flew down to the island, I could make out the only structure on the island: The Fire Temple with a bridge leading up to it.

We landed near the water and hid Appa behind a rock formation. We hopped off of the giant beast and got ready to go. I was glad to finally be able to stretch my legs after sitting on Appa for so many hours. Sokka also seemed to be glad for that fact and began to stretch out his entire body. Meanwhile, Aang gave Appa a loving hug and praised the creature for the long flight, "You did it, buddy. Nice flying." Appa groaned then rolled over onto his side in pure exhaustion. Poor Appa. I was exhausted after the blockade, but at least I got to rest after it was over. Appa had to carry on flying for hours. Talk about a workout. I rubbed Appa's stomach with Katara, giving the beast at least some comfort.

"Oh! You must be tired!" Katara said sympathetic to Appa's pain.

"No," Sokka replied, thinking that Katara was talking to him. He continued to stretch as he talked, "I'm good." Katara and I shared a disbelieving look at Sokka's actions. I quietly chuckled and shook my head as Sokka started jogging in place. "Refreshed and ready to fight some firebenders."

Katara turned towards Sokka with a wry look on her face, "I was talking to Appa."

Katara's words got Sokka to stop mid-jog with an embarrassed look coming upon his face. "Well, I," Sokka stuttered out an excuse for his actions. "Was talking to Momo." Sokka gestured backwards to where Momo hung upside down from a tree branch. Katara and I looked over to the lemur, who, sensing the attention on him, quizzically tilted his head up.

We didn't have any time to waste chatting, so we started walking up to the temple with the golden light of the magic hour falling upon us. There was only one path up to the temple, leaving us with only the choice of entering through the front door. We walked up the path cautiously with anticipation of an attack. As we came to the end of the bridge up and to the stairs of the temple, we crouched down behind a half wall. So far we had not been attacked, nor did we even see any signs of people. "I don't see any guards," Sokka whispered peaking over and observing the temple up ahead.

"The Fire Nation must have abandoned the temple when Avatar Roku died," Katara reasoned for the lack of people. I furrowed my eyebrows at the comment. It just seemed too good to be true, and well, yes I did know that there were people inside, but that was not the point.

"It's almost sundown. We'd better hurry," Aang hastily said before he leaped over the wall and started running into the temple. The three of us and Momo hurriedly followed after him. Once we entered into the temple, we began to tip-toe through the room in an attempt not to make any sound. We had made it to the center of the room when Sokka stopped us, "Wait...I think I heard something."

We stood in panic as we all turned around to see five elderly men dressed in red robes standing in the doorway. The center and upmost man spoke to us, "We are the Fire Sages. Guardians of the temple of the Avatar."

At this statement, Aang relaxed and stepped forward with a smile on his face, "Great! I am the Avatar."

The Fire Sage's face twisted sinisterly as he spoke to Aang, "We know." The Fire Sage raised his hands, assuming a firebending pose, before shooting a fireball across the room. His fire was quickly mimicked by two of his side sages and suddenly there were three speeding fireballs heading towards us.

"They don't seem too happy to see you, Aang," I yelled quickly as the fireballs traveled towards us while I slowly started taking steps backwards.

Aang deflected the three fireballs with his airbending, sending them off in other directions. "I'll hold them off. Run!" Aang turned and yelled back at us. There was no hesitation as we took off running down the corridor. We ran down the dimly lit, red halls not quite sure where we were going or how Aang would catch up with us. We didn't run very far before we abruptly stopped in our tracks due to Aang jumping out of the entry in front of us. Aang skidded as he turned to talk to us. "Follow me!" Aang pivoted around and took down the hallway. I huffed heavily as we continued on with the running. Argh, I hated sprinting. I was always more of a slow long distance runner. Running was difficult either way. I calmly tried to regulate my breathing as we ran, knowing that, unlike home, I couldn't just take a break or slow down.

"Do you know where you're going?" Sokka called after Aang as we ran.

"Nope!" Aang cheerfully called back as he disappeared around the corner. We started following but were stopped again as Aang ran right back around the corner. "Wrong way!" Aang yelled as he rushed passed us leaving us dazed and confused. A second later we saw what Aang was running from as a Fire Sage came around the corner.

We quickly took off running after Aang and away from the Fire Sage. "Come back!" the Fire Sage yelled as he followed behind us. I turned my head around to look at him while I ran. I knew that he was a good guy, but I just followed after Sokka and Katara as they ran. We raced around in a maze of turns chasing after Aang. We ran down a corridor and reached the end only to discover a dead end. With nowhere else to go, we turned to face the Fire Sage.

"I don't want to fight you," the Fire Sage said in a calm and friendly manner. "I am a friend." I tried to remember his name, but I couldn't think of it for the life of me.

Everyone else moved into defensive positions while I felt no need to prepare myself for a battle. "Firebenders aren't our friends," Sokka shouted angrily back at the Fire Sage.

I scoffed loudly at Sokka, crossing my arms over my chest and muttered under my breath, "Wow, way to be prejudice, Sokka."

The Fire Sage did not get mad nor take offensive at the defensive nature of everyone else and Sokka's comment. Instead, the man carefully approached Aang and dropped down to his knees bowing. "I know why you're here, Avatar," The Fire Sage spoke up to Aang from his bowed position.

At the Fire Sage's words, Aang relaxed his position and took surprise from the words. "You do?" Aang asked the firebender.

"Yes," The Fire Sage responded to Aang. Seeing that the tension was fading, the man stood up from his knelt position on the ground. The Fire Sage continued on, answering Aang's question, "You wish to speak to Avatar Roku. I can take you to him."

"How?" Aang asked curiously but also wary of the Fire Sage. The man turned to the wall that held a light fixture. He pulled the fixture to the side and revealed a small hole that had been hidden underneath. Taking a deep breath, the Fire Sage put his hand up to the hole and shot a stream of fire through the hole. The fire traveled to frame the panel next to the fixture. The panel slid away revealing a secret passageway behind the wall.

The Fire Sage gestured to the newly revealed passageway, "This way." The other three eyed the passage and still seemed apprehensive in trusting the man. Our attention was drawn away by the sound of another Fire Sage shouting. The Fire Sage looked nervously behind at the sound before swiftly turning back around, "Time is running out. Quickly!" I could see the decision had been made by their eyes that became firm. We all caught each other's eyes and gave a nodded in agreement: we would go into the secret passageway and follow the Fire Sage. We entered into the passageway with the Fire Sage following us. He closed the door and we were closed in.

.

"Avatar Roku once called this temple his home. He formed these secret passages out of the magma," told the Fire Sage whose name I learn was Shyu. As he spoke, we stepped down a set of stairs that opened into a vast, cavernous tunnel system.

My jaw dropped slightly as we entered into the tunnels. They were quite expansive and awe-inspiring, even though they were only dimly lit with the red glow of lava (magma?) and the Fire Temple's lights. "Did you know Avatar Roku?" Aang asked Shyu as we walked.

"No. But my grandfather knew him," Shyu spoke while leading us through the magma carved tunnels of awesomeness. "Many generations of Fire Sages guarded this temple long before me. We all have a strong spiritual connection to this place." We walked alongside a vein of lava that glowed red with energy. I stared down at it in awe. How cool was it to see actual lava! It was something that I never thought I'd actually see in person, but here it was, emanating energy. Tell you what, though, it was super hot (Wow! Shocker! I know). The system, even though it was spacious, was stifling with heat.

I was so captivated in the lava that I didn't realize that I had fallen behind everyone in my transfixion. "Is that how you knew I was coming?" Aang finished as I rushed to catch up with the others.

"A few weeks ago, an amazing thing occurred. The statue of Avatar Roku, its eyes...began to glow!" Shyu described to us what had happened.

"That's when we were at the Air Temple," Katara shouted as she realized the connection between what we had been doing and what had happened here on the island. "Avatar Roku's eyes were glowing there too!"

"All the Avatars' eyes started glowing," I added into the conversation. I wondered how all the statues were connected together and also with the Avatar. Maybe it was something with the spirit world? Some spiritual connection? It was strange because they were just statues, but different world means different rules. If I had to guess, I would say that not all the rules from home exactly applied here.

Shyu continued on explaining the story to us as we walked through the boiling room, "At that moment, we knew you had returned to the world." I used my forearm to wipe the sweat beads that had gathered on my forehead.

"If this is the Avatar's temple, why did the Sages attack me?" Aang questioned Shyu about why we had been attacked earlier and pointing out the contradiction in information.

"Things have changed," Shyu said. I let my eyes gaze up and across the ridged ceiling far above as he spoke. "In the past, the Sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Roku died, the Sages eagerly awaited for the next Avatar to return. But he never came."

Hearing this, Aang fell against the wall of the tunnel for support as the realization came to him, "They were waiting for me." I frowned for the poor boy, knowing that guilt laid heavily on his chest. He shouldn't have to be feeling this, and not just because it wasn't his fault. He shouldn't have to deal with guilt like that as a twelve-year-old boy.

In an attempt to make Aang feel better, Sokka put an arm around Aang and joked, "Hey, don't feel bad. You're only a hundred years late."

Aang glared at Sokka for his actions and I moved in to reprimand. I smacked Sokka on the back of the head, giving a disapproving purse of my lips, "That's not his fault." I then glanced over to Aang with a softer expression, "And that's way he shouldn't feel bad." Sokka rolled his eyes at me and I dramatically returned the gesture. Catching each other's eyes, we snickered at our actions under our breath.

"They lost hope the Avatar would ever return," I looked over to Shyu as he turned the attention back to the previous conversation. He had now turned around to talk face-to-face to Aang about this serious matter. "When Fire Lord Sozen began the war, my grandfather, and the other Sages were forced to follow him." Shyu shook his head in dismay of the turn of events. "I never wanted to serve the Fire Lord. When I learned you were coming, I knew I would have to betray the other Sages."

Aang smiled gratefully at Shyu and bowed slightly, "Thank you for helping me."

Shyu smiled warmly at the gratitude from Aang before he turned to the entrance we had arrived at and continued to lead us. "We'll follow these stairs to the sanctuary," he said as we started up a spiral staircase of so, so many stairs. They just went on and on. They never seemed to stop! We couldn't go very slowly either since we were racing against the sun. I took deep, calm breaths from the exercise as we approached the end of the stairway. "Once you're inside, wait for the light to hit Avatar Roku's statue. Only then will you be able to speak with him." As Shyu finished, we had finally reached the end of the stairs and Shyu lifted up the panel that hid the passage. Shyu pushed back the panel and stepped up into the room with us following behind. I turned my head from side to side as I took in the room. It was quite a nice place with a shiny floor and a tall ceiling held up by freaking awesome dragon pillars. Talk about some nice architectural features. In front of us stood a pair of wide, fancy doors that contained the room Aang needed. Unfortunately, the doors were closed at the moment. "No!" Shyu gasped as he saw this fact.

"Shyu, what's wrong?" Aang asked at Shyu's exclamation as he stepped up behind the man.

"The sanctuary doors," Shyu said mournfully staring up at the doors. "They're closed." Aang stepped up to the doors to examine them while Sokka leaned up against the wall. I stared up at the looming doors that dwarfed me in size, towering over me like an oppressive captor. It was about ten times my height and I had to crane my head all the way back to see the top.

Katara stood talking to Shyu, "Can't you just open them with firebending? Like you opened that other door?" While Katara spoke, Aang pushed against the door with all his might in an attempt to move the massive doors, however, they didn't even budge.

"No," Shyu stated firmly getting Aang to stop pushing on the door to turn around and listen with wide eyes. "Only a fully realized Avatar is powerful enough to open this door alone. Otherwise, the Sages must open the doors together with five simultaneous fire blasts."

"Five fire blasts, huh?" Sokka thought out loud getting everyone's head to turn and look at him. Sokka stroked his chin as he thought. His face lit up as he stumbled upon an idea. Of course, in the show, the lantern above his head acted as if it was a light bulb going off with the company of a ding, but being here in person, there was no ding or pan up of the camera. "I think I can help you out." After gathering supplies, Sokka worked to make pouches of oil. We all gathered around Sokka as he sat on the floor making the fifth sack. "This is a little trick I picked up from my father. I seal the lamp oil inside an animal skin casing, Shyu lights the oil soaked twine and tada! Fake firebending!" Sokka poured the lamp oil inside the casing then pulled the twine tight and held up the finished product.

"You've really outdone yourself this time, Sokka," Katara praised her brother placing her hands on her hips.

"See," I joined in with the compliments. "This is why you're the idea guy!"

Shyu had seemed to regain his hope at Sokka's plan and smiled once more, "This might actually work." Sokka went to work stuffing the sacks into the mouths of the five lion heads guarding the doors to the sanctuary. "The Sages will hear the explosions, so as soon as they go off, you rush in," Shyu said standing next to the door waiting for Sokka to finish. As he secured the last one, Sokka ran away from the door joining Katara, Momo and I. I held Momo as we hid behind a pillar for protection from the blast.

Katara turned towards Aang who was hiding behind the pillar opposite of ours, "Its almost sunset. Are you ready?"

"Definitely," Aang responded with confidence in his answer. We turned to watch as Shyu sent a small stream of fire past the five lion heads igniting the twine. Shyu ran to join Aang behind the column as the fire traveled up the twine rope of the sacks. Sokka crouched and wrapped his arms tightly around Katara and mine's legs as we waited with anticipation. A loud noise sounded and smoke filled the air as the bombs went off. Not wasting any time, Aang ran through the smoke over to the doors. Grunts from Aang were heard and, as the smoke cleared, Aang was still seen pulling at the door handles. "They're still locked," Aang muttered in defeat.

We stood in a silent shock and disappointment as we took in the failure. Sokka stood up behind me and I held Momo a little tighter. All of our faces showed disappointment as we stared at the door. "It didn't work," Shyu whispered dejectedly. Aang sank to the floor as the sun continued to set.

.

All of us stood in front of the sanctuary doors except for Aang who furiously hurled air blasts at the locked doors in an attempt to get them to open. "Why won't it open! Aargh!" Aang yelled at the uncooperative doors.

"Aang, stop!" Katara grabbed Aang's arm and stopped his tantrum. "There's nothing else we can do." As we talked, Sokka walked up to the doors with a questioning look.

I walked over and rubbed Aang's back comfortingly as he hung his head shamefully, "I'm sorry I put you through all this for nothing."

"It won't be for nothing, Aang," I said giving a kind and hopeful smile. "Even though this didn't work, we'll figure something out." Aang returned a smile that also was hopeful but also contain an underlying sadness.

Sokka approached the doors and ran his finger across the metal that held left over residue from the blast. "I don't get it," Sokka questioned out loud to us. We looked up and listened as he spoke through his thoughts. "That blast looked as strong as any firebending I've seen." Momo climbed up and curled up comfortably in one of the dragons mouths as Sokka talked.

Katara's face lit up as Sokka's comment made a connection in her mind of how to solve this predicament, "Sokka! You're a genius!"

"Wait, how is Sokka genius?" Aang questioned confused and raised his hands questioningly. "His plan didn't even work."

"Come on Aang," Sokka sighed leaning against the doors happy for any praise he was getting from his sister. "Let her dream."

"You're right," Katara continued on with a confidence the rest of us didn't understand. "Sokka's plan didn't work...but it looks like it did." Everyone's faces still were glazed over with confusion as they stared at the girl not following her words.

Of course, I already knew what Katara was talking about and I decided that I could probably figure out what Katara was talking about. I faked understanding of what Katara was saying with comprehension coming across my face. "Oh. I get it. That is genius!"

Aang raised his eyebrows, still not seeing what Katara was talking about, "Did the definition of 'genius' change in the last hundred years?" Katara mischievously grinned at the boy as she thought of her scheme to get Aang inside the sanctuary. It wasn't long before we all stood in our places, waiting for the plan to commence. The plan was simple. We would hide and wait for the other Fire Sages to arrive. When they did, Shyu would convince them that Aang had already entered the sanctuary and that they needed to open the doors to stop him. They would open the doors then we would pop out from our hiding spots and take hold of them while Aang got inside the sanctuary. It as simple, it was easy, and nothing could go wrong, right?

I hid over by the stairs and I would take on the left-most sage. I was nervous about what I would do but ready. I would flip up the cape over their face, then push them downwards against the ground and pin their hands behind their back. Easy. My head snapped over to the stairs as I heard a clattering come from the passage. Someone was down there, most likely, Zuko. My head turned from the stairs over to the doors for a split second before I turned it back. I bit my thumb as I thought of what to do. Did I do nothing? Or did I go do something about Zuko? I didn't really need to stop Zuko. It's not as if he stopped Aang from entering the sanctuary, but could I really just sit here and do nothing? I was tired of doing nothing. I feel that I hadn't really done much here. I feel I haven't done anything worthwhile, just playing along as a child. I wanted to do something. I needed to something. I gulped and walked over to the stairs. A shadow cast by the light spread across the floor that grew closer. I rushed down the stairs, prepared to stop Zuko and make a difference.

There he stood in the hallway with the same furious and disgruntled expression that his face always seemed to hold. This expression only seemed to deepen as he saw me appear. I held a firm expression as I took out my fans and got into position to fight. Zuko also moved into a stance for a battle as we locked eyes. The tensions grew between us as we waited for the first move to be made.

Zuko made the first move. He sent a blast of fire towards me that I easily dodge by taking a step to the right. I wasted no time sprinting towards him and he wasted no time sending another fire blast from the other side. This time, I dodged to the left. As I got close, Zuko raised his right hand to attack me. With one fan, I swiped his attack away and with the other, I raised the fan under his chin then pushed backwards with an accompanying kick to the chest. Recovering from my attack, I landed on my left foot as Zuko stumbled backwards. Zuko regained his stance with a pissed off look on his face. Zuko sent a furious blast towards my face. My eyes widened at the incoming flames that were too close to me for comfort. I flicked a fan open and used it as a shield against the incoming fire as I twirled around. I had barely recovered from his last attack before Zuko was on me again. He kicked me in the side sending me stumbling off. I caught myself as I stumbled into the wall with pain pulsing in my side. Zuko sent another fireball towards me. I rolled over the wall to avoid it. I jumped into action and aimed a strike for Zuko's head.

I had gotten much better at fighting, that much was obvious, but I hadn't improved enough. My month of practice was nothing compared to the sixteen years Zuko had under his belt. Zuko grabbed my wrist, stopping my attack, and kicked me in the stomach sending me flying backwards. My eyes widened in panic as I flew through the air. My arms moved in a flurry of movements as I tried instinctually to save myself from the fall. My attempts were in vain. I landed on the ground, semi-able to catch myself, but it didn't matter. My acceleration kept sending me backwards. My head flung to the ground, hitting the sharp edge of the steps. Then, there was only blackness.

.

Zuko looked down upon the knocked-out girl. He hadn't meant to knock her out, but at least this way she was out of the way and wouldn't cause any trouble. She seemed to be determined to get in his way, even if her attempts were feeble. He chose to waste no more time and quickly made his way up the stairs. When he got to the top, he spotted his prey hiding from the Fire Sages behind a pillar. The Avatar. His chance at redemption. Zuko had failed before, but he would accept failure no more. This would be the time he captured the boy.

Aang did not know of the danger lurking behind him as he stared at the Fire Sages being subdued by his friends. He saw Katara, Sokka, and Momo take down their sage, pinning them to the ground, but Rachelle was nowhere to be seen. Where was she? Luckily, Shyu seemed to notice the lack of Rachelle and took down the last standing guard himself. Aang had been so wrapped up in the action in front of him that he didn't even realize Zuko was behind him until his arms were grabbed and pinned behind his back. Aang wiggled in an attempt to get out as he heard Shyu call out to him, saying that it was time for him to go, but it was too late. Aang had been firmly captured by Zuko.

"Aang! Now's your chance!" Katara called, but still, no reply from Aang was heard.

The answer to what had happened to Aang was seen as Zuko appeared with Aang from behind the pillar. "The Avatar's coming with me!" Suddenly, the tables turned on the Gaang as the Fire Sage overpowered them in their shock. Momo took off flying while the others were led over to the pillar to be tied up with chains. Meanwhile, Zuko started pushing Aang forward to the stairs.

Aang could peer down the stairs as he was pushed forward. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open at the sight he saw. At the bottom of the stairs laid Rachelle, gracefully strewn across the ground with her hair flowing over the ground. Had Zuko done that? Was she ok?

"Close the doors! Quickly!" Zuko shouted to the Fire Sages getting Aang to focus back on the rest of the room.

Aang looked worriedly over his shoulder at Sokka and Katara chained to a pillar. They were closing the doors, but two of his friend were being tied up and the other lay on the ground unconscious. First thing was first, he needed to be let go of Zuko. Aang stepped to the side then ran under their arms to kick Zuko in the back and knock him down the stairs. Zuko tumbled down the stairs as Aang ran forward to Katara and Sokka. Mid-run Katara called out to him, "Go!" Katara had decided for Aang. He would go into the sanctuary and somehow save his friends when he got out. Aang changed directions and took off to the doors. He jumped in the air to avoid a fire blast and used the heads of the Fire Sages as stepping stones. He raced for the door and sailed through just for the doors to close as he had made it. The locks groaned as they fell into place. "He made it!" Katara shouted, and indeed he had.

.

A white glow started to emanate from the doors leading to the sanctuary as smoke escaped under the door and surround the people in the next room. The Fire Nation troops stood ready to take down Aang, the Fire Sages stood back fearfully, and the others were tied to the pillars. The doors slowly started to creak open, revealing a bright white light that streamed into the room causing the inhabitants to shield or turn their eyes way. The troops stood ready as Zhao commanded, "Ready..."

The light began to fade as the doors opened to reveal two glowing eyes shining through the dark. At the sight of what they assume to be their friend exiting the sanctuary, Sokka and Katara struggle against the chains that bound them. Katara called out to warn Aang as he exited, "No! Aang!"

Seeing that Aang was emerging, Zhao shouted to his men, "Fire!" Zhao and his soldiers shot streams of fire into the sanctuary. The fire, however, did not seem to go into the sanctuary. Instead, the fire transformed into a gigantic ball of swirling fire. Slowly, the fireball was split apart revealing the firebender inside: Avatar Roku. Everyone's faces were filled with shock from the unexpected sight.

"Avatar Roku!" Shyu muttered in amazement. The figure of Avatar Roku used the flames that surrounded him as his own. He sent out a wave of fire across the room. The fire knocked down Zhao and his soldiers to the floor and it burned away the chains holding not only Sokka, Katara, and Shyu, but also Zuko.

The moment Zuko was free, he took off running as fast as he could to get away from this situation. He was not going to let himself be captured by Zhao to be taken in as a prisoner in his own nation. Once again, it seems, he had failed, failed to capture the Avatar and failed to restore his honor. This expedition had been a complete waste. He tore down the stairs in a hurry to get out and in rage, but as he reached the bottom, he paused. He looked down at the girl who peacefully laid on the floor, completely unaware of the danger and destruction that surrounded her. She had been traveling with the Avatar since the South Pole. He assumed they were friends, close enough that she probably knew where he would be going or at least how to better track him. She could be a valuable asset. Maybe today wasn't a complete failure.

Zuko bent down and picked up the girl before he hastily took off for his ship. It was a good thing that she wasn't too heavy because the temple began to fall apart around Zuko as he ran. He barely made it out and safely to his ship with the lava and Zhao's soldiers. It would have been much easier without the girl weighing him down, but hopefully, it would be worth it.

.

Commotion filled the room as Katara, Sokka and Shyu stood by the pillar they had been tied to. "Avatar Roku's going to destroy the temple! We have to get out of here!" Shyu urged the two kids to get to safety.

"Not without Aang!" Katara shouted back over the noise of the room. Katara and Sokka hid behind a pillar as Avatar Roku destroyed the temple. The floor split creating a stream of lava. Avatar Roku bended the lava up through the temple causing the ground to shake and for pieces of the ceiling to come crashing down. Finally, Roku seemed done destroying the temple and regained his breath. Smoke swirled around Roku and as it dissipated Aang had seemed to take his place. Aang sunk into the ground as Avatar Roku seemed to leave him.

Katara and Sokka ran up to Aang to help support him as he regained his bearings. "We got your back," Sokka said supportively to Aang. Each of the siblings held Aang under his arms.

"Thanks," Aang replied as they started making their way to the exit. Aang's face turned to a worried look as he realized that there were only two of his friends standing by his side, "Where's Rachelle and Shyu?"

Katara paused while a painful expression flashed over her face. She hadn't seen Rachelle during this whole chaos. She had no clue where the girl was and that scared her to death. What if…what if she was hurt or hadn't gotten out of the tower and she… "I don't know."

Hearing her response, Aang hurriedly pushed Katara and Sokka forward to where he had seen Rachelle last. As he reached the stairs, he was mortified by the sight. Where there had once been a stairwell, now was a lake of lava. "No," Aang whispered, his eyes filling with water at the thought of his friend still laying there covered in a blanket of molten lava. His voice cracked as he spoke, "Rachelle, she was down there." He looked up at Katara with panic. Katara stood, shaking, at what Aang had said. She tried to respond but found her throat dry with no words. "She made it out, didn't she?" Aang asked her with big, innocent eyes. "She couldn't have… have…"

"I'm sure that she found a way out," Sokka softly not wanting to think of what had become of Rachelle if she hadn't. "And we need to find one, as well." There wasn't anything he could do about Rachelle and he couldn't worry about it now or it'd be the last thing he worried about. They walked over the hole in the wall and looked out. They gasped as they saw Appa and Momo flying over to them. They slide down the roof and onto Appa's back. As they flew away, they looked back on the temple falling apart and all they could do is just hope that their friend had made it out ok.

* * *

Awhhh! It's done! I've been dreaming of reaching this spot in the story for soooooo long. Now I'm finally here and it feels great. So, yeah, Rachelle is with Zuko now. I almost didn't want her to get kidnapped by Zuko just because that's what always happens in these fics, but it was kind of a necessity, since, you know, you can't really develop a relationship with someone you're not around. So, if I didn't have Zuko capture her, they wouldn't really know each other until season 3. So how 'bout no. I don't think I've ever seen anything here, though. Usually, it's in either the first two episodes or in the next one. I can see why too because it was really hard to work this into the story and have it make sense and everything. But I'm really happy with how it turned out and I hope you liked it as well. I also am really excited about the next few chapters for some Zuko-Rachelle bonding time and it also allows me some more creative freedom. So, good things all around.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to the future! Thank you for all the favs, follows, and reviews. If you have any comments or suggestions feel free to leave a review or pm. Thanks for reading!


	9. The Waterbending Scroll

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

* * *

There was a throbbing pain emanating from the back of my head. I squinted my eyes and furrowed my eyebrows at the painful awakening. I slowly felt myself coming around from the blackness that had enraptured me. I didn't know how long I was out, but it felt as if I couldn't have been out for more than a few minutes. I slowly opened my eyes and was shocked with the image that filled my vision. I was not in the Fire Temple anymore. Instead, I was in a dark, metal room. A few lanterns hung around the room giving off a dim, red light. A sinking feeling started in my stomach as I started to make a connection. The feeling only grew worse as I continue to take in the room. On the wall, several back and red banners hung, each with a flame design. The banners were paired with a giant red symbol of the Fire Nation that hung on the wall before me. Crap. Somehow, and I don't know how, I was in a Fire Nation room.

My panic kicked in as the shock wore off. I immediately tried to take off only to find that my arms were restrained to a chair with cuffs. My wristed pulled up from the cuffs in an attempt to break free of them. However, no matter how hard I pulled at the restraints, I could not break through. It seemed that I was stuck and captured. By who? I could only guess. My thoughts first turned to Zhao, the mean and slightly evil admiral of the Fire Nation. He absolutely terrified me if I was being honest. I had no doubt in my mind that if I got in his way of getting the Avatar, he would not hesitate to remove me from the situation permanently. I could only hope that it wasn't him who currently had me tied up. My second thought was Zuko, who was much better than Zhao but not really the best thing that could have happened. I trusted Zuko though, at least to some degree in these early days. More than Zuko, I trusted Iroh. Hopefully, if Zuko had been the one to capture me, Iroh would not allow anything bad to happen to me.

My heart pounded loudly in my chest and I breathed out deeply as I tried not to panic too much. Stay calm and find a way out. My eyes scanned the room for an escape. The only possible exits I could find were the door and a vent in the ceiling. The vent in the ceiling was bolted shut which basically ruled out that route. The door was the only other exit, but I would probably face a good deal of resistance that way. Plus, that didn't even deal with the chair situation. I didn't have time to think over an escape plan anymore and my question of who had captured me was answered as the door opened with a groan of metal. I sat on the edge of my chair with fear coursing through my body as I stared at the door to see who would come around on the other side. My heart skipped a beat as I saw who walked around the corner. It was Zuko. I don't know whether this fact relieved me or made me scared. Either way, my eyes widened at the sight and I couldn't stop the shocked statement that escaped my lips, "You?"

Zuko seemed to ignore my comment as he strode towards me, a firm look upon his face, with two guards marching behind him. He looked down at me with a superior look as if he was a god among men and I was a mere peasant. "Good, you're finally awake," Zuko stated as he saw my now conscious state. Him saying this made me wonder how long I had been out. I watched wide-eyed as Zuko glanced back to command the guards, "Guards."

Even though Zuko didn't give them a command, the guards already seem to know what Zuko wanted them to do. The guards started walking forward, towards me, and panic raised within me. I, once again, struggled against the hand restraints as my breathing increased in rate. I jerkily turned my head from one guard to the next like a fearful rabbit being cornered. The guards passed by and took a stand behind me on each side. After I saw where the guards were going, I let my focus turn to Zuko. I hardened my glance and breathed out deeply as I got ready for whatever was going to come next. Zuko stared back into my eyes with the same about of firmness. Holding each other's glares, the tensions rose between us before Zuko started the tête-à-tête. "Tell me," Zuko narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth as he almost growled at me. "Where is the Avatar's next destination?"

So, that's what this was about. I was here to be interrogated for information about Aang. Surely, Zuko didn't think that I'd just give up my friend like nothing? I wondered how far Zuko was willing to push me. I questioningly narrowed my eyes and decided to play dumb, "What?"

He stared at me, his eyes narrowed, as if he was reading my actions to see any hint of deception. "Be reasonable," Zuko suggested calmly if this was clearly the simplest thing to do. He loosened his form, putting his hands behind his back, and stood up straighter as he paced a few steps in front of me. "I need to know where the Avatar is headed. It's not a hard question. Just answer and you're free to go." As Zuko finished his statement, he stopped pacing and turned to look at me for my answer. He raised his eyebrow and stared patiently. Zuko seemed to be staying calm and trying to reason why I should answer his question. This was quite a strange tactic considering how hot-head Zuko was. I wondered if could get him to explode?

"You," I started slowly, drawing out my words as I facetiously answered him. "Want to know where the Avatar is headed?" I went to make a gesture with my hands, only to find them still restrained. A shame, really, as I talked so much with my hands. Instead, I raised my eyebrows questioningly as high as they would go and gave Zuko a wide-eyed, innocent look.

Zuko's face immediately turned sour at my answer. Once, where there had been a momentary calm, now was back to the angry expression that Zuko usually held. "Answer the question," He barked out me piercingly. He stepped forward loomed over me threateningly, "I have you captive. If you care at all about your safety, tell me where the Avatar is, Peasant." He spat out the word peasant as if it was dirt that shouldn't be in his mouth while his face twisted in anger.

I pushed myself back as far as I could in the chair while he shouted. I would be lying if I said his actions didn't scare me at all. I wish I could say that I trusted Zuko enough to know that he was a good guy that wouldn't hurt me; he's just in a bad place right now. However, a part of me didn't trust him and was scared of him, especially when he loomed over me with a face full of rage and fury. I gripped the arms of the chair with my hands as I tried my best to stop myself from trembling; to stop the tears from forming in my eyes, I bit my lower lip. I took a deep breath and steadied myself. I wouldn't let him scare me. I just needed to be flippant. It was quite rude that he called me a peasant. Does he even know my name? "Rachelle," I stated plainly, regaining control of myself and the situation.

"What?" Zuko stepped back, momentarily confused by my response.

"My name," I stated. "It's Rachelle. You can call me," I paused, looking upwards, before I started listing off all the different variations of my name that I could think of. "Rachelle. Or Rach. You could call me _Rachelle_." I said my name with an accent. "Elle. Ray. Ray Ray." I moved my head with each name I listed off, not being able to use my hands at all. "Or you can call me by my last name Jones. Or Joan. Jo. Jo Jo. Ray Jo. All of these are options," I shrugged my shoulders as I continued to be facetious.

"I don't care what your name is!" Zuko interrupted me with furious frustration.

I watched as Zuko squeezed his eyes shut, ground his teeth, and flexed his hands closed. He did all these actions in an attempt to keep his temper. I was getting to him, I could tell. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, I wasn't quite sure, but it did make me grin slightly. "Ok, sorry," I backed down with lightness in my tone, almost to the point it sounded like I was chuckling. I tried my best to not let my amusement show as I was facetious once again, "Just trying to be informative."

My words, once again, set off Zuko's temper as the flames around the room spiked into the air. "Where is the Avatar headed!?" Zuko screamed down at me while his face warped in a hideous rage.

I paused, taking a moment to shake off the fear, and gulped as I continued on. "Well, I used to know, because I was traveling with him," I started frivolously explaining to Zuko. "But then someone decided to capture me," I gestured my head forward slightly at Zuko so he knew I was talking about him. "So now I'm not with him and don't know where he is. Since, you know," I paused to put emphasis on the next phrase. "I'm not with him."

I saw Zuko's eyebrow twitch as he ground his teeth together. "You have to know something about where he is going." He spoke through his teeth, not outwardly as angry as he had been, but the anger was still there in the words. He spoke more to himself then to me, as if he was processing the whole situation. "You've been traveling with him for a month. You should have some useful information about him, you stupid peasant girl!" He looked up and shouted at me when he spoke his last words.

I lightly bit my lip at his actions but continued on in my facetiousness. I leaned over to one of the guards as I spoke out of the side of my mouth, "Geeze, what's got his knickers in a twist, am I right?"

"Argh!" Zuko screeched as he had enough of my antics. My eyes widened and I pushed myself back in my chair as the flames scattered across the room shot up to the ceiling, creating a room of flames. Flames erupted from Zuko's fist and he furiously strode over to me. In seconds, a stream of flames was licking my face centimeters away from my skin. I turned my head away as far as I could, until the one side of my face pressed firmly against the cool metal chair. Every part of my body shook and trembled with fear as tears escaped my tightly clenched eyes and poured down my face. Heat radiated onto my face as Zuko stood there, unmoving, with what could be my death.

What felt like hours passed by and, suddenly, the heat was gone. The tension released in my body and I collapsed forward with a sob wracking my body. I sat there, trying my best not to cry and trembling, while Zuko stared down upon me. I couldn't see the rage that was still on Zuko's face, but I could hear the underlying anger as he spat out an order to his guards, "Take her to her cell."

I didn't look as the guards unlocked the cuffs from the chair. I stared at nothing and trembled as the guards guided me up before putting my hands behind my back and cuffing them to each other. They began to walk out of the room, one in front of me and one behind. I didn't dare look at Zuko as I left. Only when I stepped out of the room did a glance up. I saw him standing in the room, poignantly looking at the floor with slight anger, and I looked quickly away.

.

What had he done? He clenched his fist as he stared at the floor with regret and rage. Zuko was angry at himself for losing his temper and almost burning the girl. She just…. argh! She got under his skin, and she took nothing he said seriously. Zuko had saved her life, risking his own livelihood in the process. He took a chance and she didn't seem to be the least bit useful. His uncle had been right when he said Zuko shouldn't have brought the girl aboard. He remembered the pure fear her eyes had held as he brought the flame up to her face. How she turned away and shook. Zuko had become a monster of rage. He had gone too far.

.

I watched the feet of the guard in front of me as we walked. I had gone too far. That much was clear. I hadn't meant to, it just happened. I shouldn't have pushed him. I should have just stayed quite. I'm sure he still would've gotten mad at my uncooperativeness, but at least I wouldn't have added fuel to the flames. It was so terrifying. I still shook with fright. I don't even know how I was managing to walk without my legs collapsing under me. I know that it wasn't the first time I had been threatened with fire, or even with my life. Zuko had sent plenty fire blasts at my face before, but there was something different this time. Maybe it was the rage that Zuko contained this time, or maybe it was because it wasn't a fight. I wasn't fighting Zuko in there, maybe with words but not physically. I was locked up and restrained with no means to defend myself. I was defenseless. Perhaps, that's why it was so scary.

I looked up as the guard stopped. We had arrived at a door which led into a room I assumed would be mine for the foreseeable future. The guard opened the door and stepped aside so I could go in. I watchfully stepped into the room, or more like cell. There were no windows just a vent in the ceiling. Plain metal walls. A single sheeted spring bed. A toilet and sink. Two lamps that poorly lit up the room. That was it. I stood placidly as the guard removed my cuffs. I rubbed my wrist and hugged them to my chest, glad I had them back. I turned and watched the guard exit the room closing the door behind him. I was locked in.

I walked over to the bed in a daze. I sat down on the thin mattress and the springs groaned in protest. I stared blankly at the floor as I tried to process what had just happened. A few tears managed to spill down my face covering the tracks that others had made. A deep breath filled my lungs and, as the air left my lungs, I slumped over. I let my body come down from the emotional mountain I had just been over. The silence washed over me like the isolation of the cell. Time seemed to pass by slowly, but I had no indication of how much time had actually been passing. No matter how long it had actually been, I only had the metal, the silence and myself to keep me occupied. I just hoped that the cold isolation of this cell didn't represent the time that I'd spend here.

When the sound of someone at the door broke the silence, I jumped into an attentive position on the edge of the bed. I stared impatiently at the door waiting for them to come in and break the isolation. I heard the locks of the door click, the jangling of keys, and finally the groan of the door opening. I leaned forward to peek around the door. I was ready to see, as soon as possible, who had come to visit me. My heart lit up as I saw who it was at the door. A guard pushed open the door, but behind him, I could make out Iroh. As the guard moved out of the way, Iroh became fully visible. His face was relaxed in a happy expression as he entered. In his hands, Iroh carried a tray that held dishes. I smiled lightly as Iroh stepped into the room and stood in front of me.

"I am glad to see that you are finally awake and well," Iroh spoke kindly to me. "I've brought you some food to eat." Iroh knelt down and placed the tray of food on the floor in front of me. "You were passed out for quite a bit. I figured you must be hungry." Iroh sat on the floor by the tray as he spoke. He gestured to a guard who came in and sat down a tray of tea supplies.

I gently slide off the bed and onto the floor so that I sat on one side of the tray and Iroh sat on the other. "Now that you mention it, I am quite famished," I replied kindly to him as I realized the emptiness of my stomach. With all the chaos from earlier, I had somehow managed to overlook the growl for food. "Thank you for your kindness and thoughtfulness," I gently thanked Iroh, truly and deeply grateful for his actions. This is just what I needed after such a horrible morning.

Iroh seemed flattered by my words and kindly chuckled, "It is the least I could do for a such a lovely and polite guest."

I smiled at before turning my attention to the delicious meal in front of me. There was a bowl in the center of the tray full of either a soup or maybe noodles. A smaller bowl was placed on the side full of steamed rice. Finally, there were utensils placed on the side. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Iroh preparing a cup of tea. I felt quite nervous and shy sitting here in front of him. Steam from the food raised into the air and I leaned over to smell the goodness. I sighed as a delicious aroma filled my nose, "Hmm, it smells good!"

"I know," Iroh chuckled as he put a steaming cup of tea down on the tray. "I had to practice all of myself control to not sneak a bite on the way here."

"Oh," I exclaimed at his remark, "Do you want some?" I gesture to the food on the tray. "I'm sure I could split it." I readily prepared myself to give up half my food.

"Ha ha, no," Iroh responded with a laugh. "I have already plenty myself." He patted his large, round stomach. "I do not need to be taking any of a young lady such as yourself." He smiled kindly at me and made me feel at ease with the situation. Finally, I could no longer keep myself from the delightful food that was placed before me. I picked up the bowl of broth and chopsticks. I dipped the chopsticks in and pulled them up to find noodles that were covered by the liquid. I leaned my head over the bowl and brought the noodles to my lips before I blew on them to cool off the heat. I took the first bite and wanted to moan from the tastiness. As I got to work eating the meal, Iroh began to talk, "I'm sure that this not exactly where you thought would be when you woke up?"

I paused my eating as I answered his question, "Uh, no." I looked down at the ground as a flash of what all happened ran through my mind. I cleared my throat and looked back up, "Not exactly."

"Do not worry," Iroh reassured me confidently with a smile on his face, "I will try to make your stay an enjoyable one." I watched the man while I ate. I wondered if he felt bad for what Zuko had done to be. I wondered if Iroh thought that Zuko had made a mistake by bringing me aboard as a captive. I wondered a lot of things but didn't ask anything. "I am Iroh," he introduced himself.

"Rachelle," I returned the introduction with a smile.

Iroh raised his eyebrows at this, "That's quite an unusual name."

I paused, quite taken aback by his response. No one else had questioned my name. I didn't know why; it didn't exactly fit with the region. I answered Iroh as best as I could, "It's a pretty common name where I'm from, actually."

"I'm sure you know my nephew, Zuko," Iroh said with a solemn look deciding to change the topic of the conversation for which I was glad. "I apologize for his anger. I heard that your talks got quite heated."

So, Iroh knew about what had happened earlier. I couldn't really say whether I was glad he knew, or whether I wished that nobody would ever know about what happened. "Yeah, a little bit," I said under my breath as I looked away. I felt ashamed talking about it. Not quite sure way, it's not like I did anything wrong, but I still didn't want to talk about it.

"My nephew does not have a good control of his temper," Iroh answered firmly, "But he would not hurt you. He tends to let his anger control him and his action, but he is a good person deep down. He has had a hard life, if you could understand that at all." Iroh caught my eye while he spoke. He looked almost pained as he tried to explain Zuko's actions to me. I softened my face at his attempts to make up for his nephew. Iroh didn't need to cover for Zuko's actions, but Iroh continued to look out for the boy even when he didn't necessarily deserve it.

"It's ok," I calmed Iroh's worries about how Zuko had affected me. "I didn't really expect anything different. He could have been a lot worse considering his family." I shrugged my shoulders casually before I froze realizing what I had unintentionally said. "Except you, of course," I backtracked over my mistake. "You don't seem to be mean at all. Well, maybe a little mean because you do make a mean cup of tea." I raised the tea that I had slowly been sipping. Being honest, I didn't really like tea all that much, but it was the best tea that I've had. Still didn't taste the greatest. Really, the only reason why I was drinking it was because I knew how much Iroh loved tea. I couldn't let him down like that!

Iroh's chuckle resonated in his chest and came out loud and joyful, "You flatter me. Tea is my expertise. I'm glad that you like it." I smiled lightly at the man as I continue to sip slowly on the tea. We continued to chat as I ate the meal. It wasn't long before I finished the delicious meal that had been accompanied by a lovely conversation. "Rachelle," Iroh called out to me getting me to look up as I placed the empty dish back down on the tray. "Perhaps you would like to join me for a game of Pai Sho?"

"Really? I would love to!" I responded in excitement without really thinking of my response. As I realized what I said, my face dropped, "I mean, I would but I don't exactly know how to play Pai Sho."

"Oh, well that's no problem," Iroh quickly grabbed my attention. "I'll teach you how to play." My face lit up with a smile once again.

I bit my lip as I tried my best to hide the mischievous smile that crept up on my face. I followed beside Iroh as we walked to the control room of the ship. I was not cuffed and out of my cell. I knew that if Zuko saw me he would not be very happy and that made me feel like I was breaking the rules. The only reason why I felt more playful than scared is that the fact that Iroh was here with me, which meant that if we did run into Zuko, he would stop his temperamental nephew.

It wasn't long before I leaned over a Pai Sho board as Iroh sat across from me. Slowly, but surely, Iroh taught me the rules of Pai Sho. We set out playing many games as I started to home in on my Pai Sho skills. Iroh and I chatted as we play, not only between ourselves, but also with some of the other crew members. It was in the middle of one game that Iroh realized he had somehow lost a Pai Sho tile. I chuckled at Iroh's actions as he deemed his lotus tile was important enough to change the course of the ship. The helmsman took some convincing, but eventually Iroh was able to bring him around and the boat leaned to the side as the ship changed direction.

Everything seemed fine for a while, but in a moment or two Zuko flung open the door and stormed over to the helmsman. "What's the meaning of this mutiny?" Zuko yelled at the poor man who stood uncomfortably. "No one told you to change course!" As Zuko shouted, I tried my best to become as small as possible in an attempt to hide myself from Zuko. I was not ready for the fury that I'm sure would come when Zuko saw me out of my cell.

"Actually," Iroh interrupted Zuko's tantrum, "Someone did." Unfortunately, in taking the spotlight off of the helmsman, Iroh had caused Zuko to turn around. My back was to him, but I didn't think I blended in very well on a Fire Nation ship full of men. "I assure you it is a matter of utmost importance, Prince Zuko." I fearfully cast my eyes to catch Iroh's. As I stared wide-eyed at him, I tried to convey the message 'I am in panic. Please help this situation'. Iroh just gave me a smile before going back to planning his next move.

"Is it something to do with the Avatar?" I felt Zuko move dangerously close behind me. My body became even more tense, if that was even possible at this point. At least this close, Zuko probably had to completely look over me to see Iroh.

"Even more urgent. It seems..." Iroh reached up and placed his head in his hand as seemed to become overcome with slight embarrassment. "I've lost my lotus tile." Iroh finished by moving a piece forward on the Pai Sho board. After his move, Iroh flicked his eyes down as if to urge me just to keep playing. I gulped and decided just to keep on playing the game.

I took in the board as Zuko seemed mystified by Iroh's words, "Lotus tile?"

"For my Pai Sho game," Iroh casually explained. "Most people think the lotus tile insignificant, but it is essential for the unusual strategy that I employ."

Zuko exclaimed back in disbelief in what his uncle was telling him, "You've changed our course for a stupid lotus tile?"

"See, you, like most people, underestimate its value," Iroh leaned against the board as he explained to his nephew. As he spoke, I moved a piece across the board and leaned back still uncomfortable with the situation. "Just give me ten minutes to check the merchants at this port of call. Hopefully, they'll have the lotus tile in stock and I can get on with my life!" Iroh stated as if it would be no big deal.

Sitting there, I thought maybe I had managed to escape Zuko's view this time, but sure enough, the fates were not that kind. "You!" Zuko shouted down causing me to flinch. I cautiously turned around and looked up at Zuko. I gave a meek wave as fearful regret came upon my face. "What are you doing here?"

Luckily, Iroh cut in to save me, "I asked her to come play a game of Pai Sho with me." Iroh moved another piece before he smiled happily up at Zuko as if there were no problems with the situation. I nervously watched as Zuko did not improve in mood.

"A game of Pai Sho?" Zuko asked incredulously. "She's a prisoner. She needs to be locked up or she could escape!"

Seeing Iroh playing it cool, I decided to do the same and just list why it was ok for me to be here. "Escape into the ocean?" I raised an eyebrow at the boy before turning around and looking for my next move. "Yes, that's exactly what I plan on doing," I continued on with my voice dripping in sarcasm, "I'm going to jump overboard, swim maybe three miles, and drown in exhaustion." I glanced back and raised my eyebrows, asking him if he was serious. I then turned back around and made my move on the board, "Besides, why would I even want to escape? You're going after the Avatar; I want to join back up with the Avatar. If you're going where I want to go, why would I run away?" I shrugged my shoulders before leaning against the board and looking casually up at Zuko.

"She is right, Prince Zuko," Iroh agreed with me. "As long as we are sea there should be no problem with her staying out." Iroh and I smiled brightly at Zuko as he clenched his fist and closed his eyes, very clearly working hard to contain his anger. Unfortunately, Zuko seemed unable to cope with our antics. He released a stream of flame from his mouth. Smoke filled the air of the room and clouded our vision. Iroh continued to brush off Zuko's action, probably use to them by now, "I'm lucky to have such an understanding nephew."

I couldn't help the breathy chuckle that escaped my mouth, "That's the understatement of the year." As Zuko rushed out of the room in rage, leaving me free of my cell, I couldn't help be mentally cheer at the teamwork of Iroh and Rachelle. Things settled down and we went back to playing Pai Sho as we waited to arrive in port. Soon enough, we had arrived at the port and Iroh led me down to the main deck. I couldn't have been happier as I stood out looking at the town. I know that it had only been one day, but it felt like I had been lock away for days. I was glad to see the sky, feel the sun on my skin and hear the bustle of people. I was, however, slightly confused as to why Iroh had brought me to the main deck instead back to the cell I had been in before. "Iroh, why did you bring me to the deck?"

"I am sure there are things that you need if you are going to be staying with us," Iroh stated as if I was just a normal guest. "We can get whatever you need here. Plus, it will not hurt having another set of eyes to look for a lotus tile."

I furrowed my eyebrows in worry and rubbed my arm, "Are you sure that's ok? I mean, I know I somehow talked Zuko into letting me stay out of the cell while at sea, but I seriously doubt that he'll be ok with me going to port?"

"You'd be right," Zuko called out with a frown on his face as he strode towards us. "There is no way that I'm allowing her to come into port. Guards, take the prisoner back to her cell where she belongs." He turned around to order some of the guards who started walking towards me.

I shifted uncomfortably at the situation, torn between wanting just to give into Zuko and wanting to stick by Iroh. Before the guards got very far, Iroh called out to reason with Zuko, "Now, Prince Zuko, there no reason why Rachelle should not be allowed to come into port." Zuko made a move to interrupt his uncle but was cut off by Iroh's hand. "She said it herself earlier. She wants to go to the same place you do, so there is no reason for her to run off. The guards will also be there even if she does try to escape. Unless, you think that she'd take down the guards and I single handily."

At Iroh's comment, Zuko looked me up and down with a disgruntled expression. "Tsk!" Zuko exclaimed before turning his back on us and walking off the boat. I watched him walk away with surprised confusion my face due to the fact he was actually letting me go into port. I turned to Iroh with a happy expression taking over my face and gave him a shrug.

Iroh led a few guards and I off the boat as we began our search for a lotus tile. We went to many stores and bought way too much stuff. Iroh somehow talked me into letting him buy me basically a whole wardrobe of clothes. He also bought a flute for me to play. When I had seen it in the store I told him I had played the flute for a couple years. After that, no matter how many times I told him that I hadn't practiced in years and wasn't very good, Iroh insisted on buying it for music night. No matter how much stuff we bought, we could not seem to find any signs of a lotus tile. I thought about telling him the lotus tile was just hiding away in his sleeve, but it was fun going around with Iroh shopping. He told me so many interesting stories. Some were stories of his time on the ship with Zuko. He told me of funny stories of past music nights where the crew would get wasted and start dancing funny jigs. He told me a story of when Zuko marched into this village and they were chased out with pitchforks. Then there were stories about Iroh when he was still an admiral. Those stories, many times, were more somber, but it was interesting to hear them.

Another thing I enjoyed about the trip was getting to see the people who lived here. The culture was different. People lived in huts and sold objects they made themselves. They had garden patches in front of their huts. There was no electricity. There were no corporations with mass production of items. No soda or chips. It was different when first looking at it, but the more time I wondered around this world I realized that things here aren't actually too different. This world was still just made up of people, people bustling around and living their lives. Quite frankly, it was beautiful, and as I strolled down a street I thought of all the shopkeepers who sold us goods with a smile on their face and watched as people hurriedly passed with carts full of food. This world was beautiful and I couldn't wait to help Aang return balance to it. It was crazy to think I could actually make a difference here, but it made me smile.

We kept walking to the next place Iroh wanted to check. On the way, the waft of a sweet smelling goodness began to fill my nose. I breathed deeply in through my nose as I looked for the source of the delicious smell. Iroh saw me looking around and chuckled, "It does smell good, doesn't it?" Iroh looked over at the building we stood in front of. It was a little hut with a door and a few windows. Out front of the building was a sign with some sort of message I couldn't read. Iroh pointed at the sign as he read, "It must be coming from here. Maybe later we can stop by and get a delicious treat before getting back on the ship."

I squinted my eyes as I tried my best to recall my nonexistent knowledge of their symbols for writing. No meaning of the characters came to me as I sheepishly looked down. "What does it say?" I meekly asked not meeting Iroh's eyes due to my embarrassment. I had always been the smart one in school, the one who was supposed to know everything. Not knowing how to read here, just, made me feel incredibly stupid and dumb.

My feelings were not improved as Iroh looked over at me with an incredulous look, "Can you not read?"

I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear as I avoided eye contact with Iroh, "No." I paused before continuing, "I mean, I did learn to read, but not these symbols." I gesture over to the sign.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Iroh looking at me as if he was trying to figure something out. I didn't say anything and after a moment Iroh turned back to the sign, "It says: 'Miyo's Bakery. Couple's special! For today only, couples will receive free cake. Come check it out'. Sounds like a pretty good deal."

Iroh looked back over to me and softened his expression as I stared solemnly at the sign for a while. I just wished that somehow the words would translate and I'd be able to understand them. They didn't. I cleared my throat and turned to Iroh, "Well, on with the lotus tile journey, no?" I gave him a meek smile and he gave a sad smile back in return. I think that he could tell that I was upset, but I wasn't going to let some reading get me down.

We continued our walk to our destination. We hadn't spent too long browsing through the items when everyone's attention was drawn to the noisy entrance of a certain hot-headed prince. "Uncle!" Zuko yelled as he burst through the door with an annoyed look resting upon his face. "Please tell me that you have found your stupid lotus tile and we can leave."

I rolled my eyes at the boy before turning back to the items I was looking at, but I did continue to listen to their conversation. Right now, I was looking at quite a nice collection of ribbons for my hair. "Unfortunately, nephew," Iroh addressed Zuko, momentarily pausing his search. "I have not been able to procure the tile, but do not worry. I will not stop looking." Iroh gave Zuko a reassuring smile which was greeted by the same disgruntled face Zuko usually had. Meanwhile, I picked up two ribbons and compared them. Both were red, but one was silky and classic while the other had lace that decorated the edges.

"I do not have all of eternity for you to bumble around looking for a stupid tile," Zuko argued with his uncle with annoyance and anger raising in his voice. I feel that the lace ribbon would have a better grip on the hair and therefore less likely to fall out, but the silky ribbon was a simple piece I feel I could benefit from. "There are more important things that we need to be doing than looking around a dingy pier. The—" Zuko stopped himself from saying the Avatar, I assumed, not wanting people to know he was looking. I looked firmly at the silky ribbon. It was pretty, but I was afraid it would slip out of my hair. "My goal is getting away. We can't waste any more time here, uncle."

"I assure you, Zuko, we are not wasting time," Iroh spoke calmly to Zuko. "This is a very important task." Should I even get a ribbon? I still hadn't mastered putting them in my hair. Every time I used one, I'd always end up feeling like Azula when she tries to tie up her hair on the day of the comet.

Zuko continued to fight back against his uncle and complained about the situation, "Well, I'm not going to just stand here and wait for you to search every nook and cranny for your stupid tile!" The ribbons were so pretty though…maybe I'd just get both.

"You don't have to," Iroh pointed out to his nephew before he thought of a mischievous idea. "Ah! In fact, I know the perfect thing that you can do." But Iroh had already got me so much stuff. I didn't want to be any more of a burden. That's that! I'm not getting either because I don't need them. "Why don't you take Rachelle around the pier?" Wait, what? "I'm sure you can find something fun to do." I dropped the ribbons and quickly turned around with shock written all over my face.

Zuko's face looked just about horrified as he responded in milliseconds to his uncle, "NO!" My shock faded away for a second as I turned and glared at Zuko. Did you have to reply so fast and so passionately, Zuko? Could you make it seem like you like me at least a little bit?

"Erh, Yeah," I hesitantly also responded pointing over to Zuko with my thumb, "I think I'm gonna have to go with him on this one."

We both stared down Iroh and both looked like we felt very uncomfortable with the situation Iroh had put us in. Iroh seemed unbothered by our response though and just smiled happily, "This is a good idea!" Iroh said happily as he turned us around and starting pushing us to the door. "Go have fun. Be young!"

.

Iroh watched as the two kids stumbled out onto the street. He smiled happily at the two of them. Rachelle truly was a sweet girl. He had originally been quite upset with his nephew for kidnaping the poor girl, but now Iroh thought the girl would do some good for the boy. Iroh hoped that if he gave a small push, they might just end up together. Although, Iroh got the sense that there was something more to Rachelle than she was telling.

.

I stumbled as we were pushed through the door and out onto the semi-busy street. I awkwardly glanced over to Zuko who stood next to me. He, apparently, had the same idea as me and was also glancing over at me. Our eyes caught one another and both quickly looked away. Zuko took off quickly down the street leaving me behind. In panic, I looked between Zuko and the shop. Did I follow? Zuko started to get further and further away the more I waited. Deciding I could wait no longer, I took off in a jog to catch up with Zuko. It didn't take long for me to catch up to Zuko. I walked slightly behind him feeling immensely uncomfortable with the situation. There seemed to be a tension of awkwardness that wrapped around us as we walked. Neither of us said anything and neither of us looked at one another.

Since I had no conversation to pay attention to while we walked, I let my mind wonder. Now would be a perfect time to run away and try to find Aang and the others. I would only have to lose Zuko and the twisting nature of the streets would give me a better chance at losing him. However, that also meant that I had a better chance at getting lost. Honestly, I knew that the gaang was near, but I had no idea where they actually were. My greatest fear was going off and getting lost in this world by myself because I have no idea how I would actually survive. So, instead, I just trailed behind Zuko as to not get lost or end up alone.

Just like before, I began to smell the sweetness of freshly baked treats. I stopped walking and stood at the shop. Looking at the sign, a plan started to formulate in my head. I stood there, unmoving, for a while as Zuko kept on going. I really thought that Zuko was just going to continue on walking, but surprisingly out of the corner of my eye I saw him stop. He quickly circled around looking for where I went. He held quite a panicked expression. I smiled and chuckled as he searched the crowd for me. Finally, he spotted me back by the bakery and as soon as his eyes landed on me his face morphed back to his usual scowl. Knowing that I held his eye, I flicked my head over to the building before I entered into the bakery.

It was a nice little place on the inside. There were a few tables with chairs surrounding the sides. Each table was complemented by a flower in a vase. Up at the front stood the main counter with racks of sweet treats waiting to be devoured. Behind the main counter, there seemed to be another room which was probably where the sweets were made. There weren't many people in the little bakery. A family sat in a corner enjoying their food and a young girl stood behind the counter. I strode up to the counter and the girl flashed me a welcoming smile. "You guys are having free cake for couples, yes?" I smiled politely as I asked the girl about the cake. It had been so long since I had eaten any sweets, not since Kyoshi, and I really wanted to get some cake. I was also pretty sure that I could get it free with some help from a firebender. Now, I know that Zuko may not like the idea of being a couple, but, dammit, I wanted cake.

"Yes, we are," She replied happily but also confused. The confusion on her face vanished as I trailed her eyes behind me. Sure enough, Zuko had entered through the door with his always happy expression. "Ah, that must be your boyfriend."

"Yes, indeed," I smiled largely and just prayed that everything went smoothly. "Also, can I get a drink of some sorts?" I glanced over my shoulder as Zuko strode towards the counter. I turned back around and hoped that I could finish this conversation before he got over here.

"Yes, we have a fruit punch, if you would like some of that?" She replied catching my glance I sent backwards.

"That's perfect. Two, please," I figured I might as well get one for grumpy face over there. I didn't know if he wanted one, or if he even would like it, but you know what, if he didn't like it then that's his problem.

"That'll be five copper pieces," The girl told me as Zuko arrived at my side and I quickly took out the money Iroh had given me. While I did so, the girl glanced over to Zuko. Zuko stood with his arms crossed over his chest and looked just so happy to be here. I watch her meekly smile at his demeanor. To which, Zuko narrowed eyes before he looked away. I set down the five copper pieces on the counter. The girl took the money, still worriedly flashing glances at Zuko, before she headed back to the other room. While we waited, I stood awkwardly next to Zuko. I cautiously looked up at him to see that he was looking at me with a hardened look. I slowly turned my head around and went back to staring at the wall. I heard Zuko let out a deep and annoyed sigh from beside me. Good to see he's having an enjoyable time.

Luckily, it didn't take the girl long to emerge from the room with two drinks, two spoons and a plate in hand. She set down the drinks and went over to one of the racks with the plate in hand. Taking a server knife, she got a piece of cake and placed it on the plate. I picked up both the drinks and took the plate from her. She smiled at us as we receive our order, well my order, "Good luck to the happy couple!" I silently laughed at the irony of her comment, because I'm sure we looked just so happy together.

Zuko furrowed his eyebrows and replied confused at her comment, "What?" My eyes widened and I nudged him forward with my shoulder. His head flashed over to me while giving me a look of disgruntled confusion. I gestured my head over one of the tables. I walked over to one of the free tables hoping that Zuko was following behind me. I placed the plate down first then set one cup on each side of the plate. I was a little shocked that there was only one piece of cake. I thought that we'd each got our own, but I suppose it was free. I sat down in a chair and saw that Zuko had followed me over. He sat down in front of me and gave me a hard glare that made me feel very small. I timidly glanced at him and gulped. "Why did she think that we were a couple?" Zuko stared me down.

"Uh," I stuttered out feeling very pressured and awkward. I looked down at my hand and embarrassedly answered, "Because there's free cake for couples." I paused and flashed my eyes up to him. I quickly looked back down not being able to handle his stare. "So, I might have told her that you were my boyfriend so I could get free cake." I watched him big eyes as he narrowed his eyes and looked at me with disbelief. He then proceeded to scoff and turn his head away as he leaned back in his chair. He stared out the window with a mean expression, but at least he was no longer staring me down.

I turned and looked at the cake. It looked so delicious, but before I could eat any I should probably ask Zuko if he wanted half since this was technically half his. However, I was afraid to ask him anything and have his attention turned back towards me. I gulped and timidly began, "Um, do you want me to split the cake in half?"

I watched nervously as Zuko turned his head back around to look at me. His eyes flickered down to the cake before back up to me, "No. I don't want any cake." He glared at me, but there wasn't much heat behind his eyes. He looked away again and silence came over us again.

"I also got you some fruit punch," I talked again in the tense atmosphere between us. Zuko glanced back over and listened with irritation. "I didn't know whether you wanted any or not. So, I got you some just in case." This time, Zuko didn't say anything. He just stared for a few seconds before he glanced back over.

Well…that's smashing. I sighed out deeply at my poor attempt to talk to the angry fellow. Instead of focusing on the seemingly unsolvable puzzle of Zuko, I turned to the delicious cake that I had ordered. I picked up the spoon and scooped up a bite of cake. I let the cake fall into my mouth and it was gorgeous. It was soft and fluffy and everything a good cake should be. I wanted to moan but there was no way I was doing that in front of Zuko. So, instead, I closed my eyes and just savored the sweetness. The awkward and tense tension between Zuko and I did not fade, but I tried my best just to ignore it.

"I wouldn't have burned you," Zuko suddenly said getting me to look up at him in surprise.

"What?" I sputtered in shock at his abrupt comment.

"Earlier today," Zuko said softer than anything I've personally heard from him here. He looked down at the table with a regretful look and there also was a slight blush on his cheeks. "I wouldn't have hurt you. I'm sorry for making you cry."

I smiled at his words and lightly chuckled. "It's fine," I replied, accepting his apology. "I shouldn't have pushed you so far. I saw you getting mad and I just kept going." I paused as I thought of the incident that we went through earlier. I know that it wasn't really my fault for what happened this morning, but I felt partially responsible. "I don't know. I just thought that being angry was just your thing. I didn't know that you would…do…that." I chuckled a bit, trying to make the whole situation into a joke because jokes were always easier to deal with.

"Hm…" That was all that Zuko said in response. While he didn't really say much, he seemed much more…relaxed. For the first time, he didn't seem so unhappy and angry. Zuko reached forward for the other spoon and took a piece of the cake. I smiled, amused by his actions, as he took a bite of the cake. He set down the spoon and leaned back in his chair as his finished his bite. He crossed his arms over his chest looked away again, "Hmph, I've had better."

I laugh joyfully at his comment which cracked me up, "Ok Mr. Cake Critic, whatever you say, but I think it tastes pretty amazing." Call me crazy, but I think I might have just seen the corner of Zuko's mouth turn up at my comment, as if I had actually managed to amuse him.

"You, obviously, just haven't had actual good cake," Zuko teased, raising his eyebrow as if he, as a prince, had tasted the finest treats in the land that a peasant like me would never know.

"Oh, yes," I scoffed jokingly at him and placed a hand on my chest. "I could not live up to your refined pallet of a prince. I am but a mere peasant." Zuko rolled his eyes and I chuckled. I continued to eat the rest of the cake and Zuko slowly drank his punch.

When everything was done, Zuko stood up and got ready to leave, "Come on, my uncle has to be done by now." I stood up and followed Zuko out, assuming that I was just supposed to leave the dishes on the table. It didn't take very long for us to catch back up with Iroh. We stood back over by the boat as the golden light of the sunset shown down upon us. The moment of Zuko actually not being unhappy had seemed to fade away as we returned with Iroh and Zuko seemed as grumpy as usual.

"I've checked all the shops on this pier. Not a lotus tile in the entire marketplace," Iroh explained in disbelief to us.

Zuko stood with his arms crossed and an annoyed glare upon his face. "It's good to know this trip was a complete waste of time," Zuko turn to his uncle as he raised his voice in frustration, "for everyone!" I chuckled at Zuko frustration with the situation that wasn't actually all that bad. He did, however, seem more frustrated than angry, which was good.

"Quite the contrary," Iroh said to his nephew. "I always say the only thing better than finding something you were looking for," As Iroh spoke, a few Fire Nation soldiers from Zuko's ship came walking past with each one carrying a huge pile of new objects Iroh bought at the marketplace, "is finding something you weren't looking for at a great bargain!" Iroh smiled and gesture to all the great stuff we had found.

I looked at all the stuff we had got in slight disbelief. I did not think that we had gotten that much stuff. I definitely did not help this situation by being here. "I think we might have overdone it," I said staring wide-eyed at all the stuff.

"You bought a tsungi horn?" Zuko asked, in more disbelief than me, as a brass horn passed by us.

"For music night on the ship," Iroh answer happily smiling. "We got a flute for Rachelle to play," Iroh said before he stroked his chin and started walking, "But I still think we could use some more woodwinds."

Zuko and I followed behind Iroh as he walked off to who knows where. "Iroh, I'm telling you," I worriedly tried to reason with the man as we walk. "I'm not that good at the flute. I only took it for a couple years and that was quite a while ago. I don't even know if I remember how to play it."

"Nonsense! I'm sure that you'll be great," Iroh continued to insist that I would a perfect flute player. I weakly laughed at the faith Iroh had in me for no reason. As we walked down the dock, we came upon a pirate ship. "This place looks promising!" Iroh shouted excitedly before rushing aboard. I smiled happily up at the ship knowing that earlier today the gaang had been here. Just knowing that I was in the same place they were made me feel a little bit closer to them and a little more at home. I hadn't been away from them more than a conscious day and I already missed them a ton. As we entered, a red jeweled monkey immediately caught Iroh's eye. "Ooo! That is handsome!" Iroh said way more excited than he should have been. The monkey kind of crept me out, but I chuckled at Iroh's enthusiasm. I looked over to see Zuko looking his uncle with confusion and incredulity. Zuko saw me looking and I shook my head at his uncle's action. Zuko looked like agreed with me. "Wouldn't it look magnificent in the galley?"

"I don't know," I spoke to Iroh staring at the monkey. "I think it looks kind of creepy, don't you?"

"We lost the Water Tribe girl and the little bald monk she was traveling with," a pirate spoke loud enough for us to overhear. Immediately, both Zuko and I jumped into action.

"Aang!" I said excitedly. This may have been a mistake as a moment later my arms were restrained behind my back, quite painfully as well.

"Don't think you're getting away!" Zuko harshly said as he held my arms.

"Ok," I chuckled at his immediate worry and jump to action, "But you could stand to be a little gentler."

Zuko snickered at my comment and I smiled. I would like to think that snickering would lead to chuckling which would lead to laughing and I had become determined to make Zuko laugh. Zuko talked to the pirates about Aang and I was taken back to the boat to be locked up in my cell. Iroh had tried to argue with Zuko about it, but I stopped him. Mostly just because I didn't think there would be any convincing Zuko this time. It was reasonable for me to be locked up when my friend was literally not too far away where I could very easily escape. So, as Iroh and Zuko took off in the smaller boat, Iwas locked away for the night.

* * *

Ah, it feels so good to be done with this chapter. This chapter was so hard to write for some reason. I literally spent five hours writing about 500 words. Anyway, I'd really like to know what you guys think. Especially about characterization. How do you think the characterization is? I think it's the thing I'm most worried about messing up.

Also, I would like to ask a question that maybe some of you could answer. Do any of you know much about Betaing? I've never really done anything with it, but I was kind of thinking of getting one for this story. I don't really know how to go about that or what to do, so if any of you have any advice, it'd be much appreciated.

Anyway, thanks so much to all of you who read. Thanks to all of you who fav, followed, or review. Please leave a review or pm if you have any comments or suggestions. I love hearing from you guys so don't be shy!


	10. Jet

I sat above deck with the sea wind ruffling my hair and the smell of the ocean in my nose. There was no tension. No fear. No panic. It felt nice and calming being out at sea. Before being captured, I hadn't really ever been on a boat, but I loved it. I didn't get seasick, quite the opposite actually. I loved the rocking of the ship. It felt like being gently rocked in a mother's arms. I loved looking at the waves as they crashed into the side of the ship. I loved the smell. I loved the openness.

I enjoyed all these things as I sat carving into a rounded chip of wood. What was I carving? A lotus. When Iroh had gotten back earlier this morning, he had told me all about his adventure with Zuko. He told me of how they had lost the extra ship and how they had also lost the lotus tile. So, I decided to try my hand at whittling some wood. I had turned some old wood into a circular chip with rough edges. Now I poorly carved in the lotus symbol.

I frown down at the poor handmade lotus tile that I had tried to make. It looked bad, but I still think that it was distinguishable. So, finishing my product, I set down the knife I had been using and stood up to go find Iroh. It didn't take long for me to find the man. I actually met him up to the first place I was going to look. On my way up to the control room, I ran into Iroh walking through the corridors. "Oh, Iroh!" I exclaimed as I saw him. "Just the man I wanted to see."

"Oh really!" Iroh looked surprised at words as a smile came upon his face. "What is it you wanted to see me about?" Iroh asked as he continued to walk to his destination.

I quickly changed my path to his as I walked alongside him. "Oh! Well, um," I rubbed my hands, feeling quite shy all of the sudden, as we paced down the hall. "Remember how you told me of how you found your lotus tile in your sleeve, but then Zuko threw it off the side of a cliff in rage." The guard walking with us, who was also carrying a table of some sorts, opened up the door leading us out to the deck. "Well, it got me thinking, mostly of how to solve the missing lotus tile." I continue to follow Iroh as he sat down and directed the guard to lay out the table. I sat down on the other side of the table, that I could now see contained a game of some sorts inside. "And well, I made one for you." I pulled out the makeshift lotus tile that I had been working on and handed it over Iroh. Iroh raised his eyebrows questioningly as he stared down at the piece. "It's kind of poorly made; the edges are all rough and the lotus design is barely recognizable, but I figured that it would work at least as a substitute." The words quickly flooded out of my mouth in a nervous ramble. I gazed at him expectantly and saw him staring at the wooden chip with soft, and almost teary, eyes.

"No," Iroh said looking up at me with happiness. "It is perfect. There is not a flaw on it. Thank you!"

I smiled sheepishly trying to stop the blush that wanted to form on my cheeks, "Well, I don't know about that, but your welcome." I smiled brightly back at him, happy that I could help. Iroh carefully tucked the tile in his pocket and started to set up the game on the table before us. I looked down on the game, trying to recognize it, as Iroh moved the square tiles around, "So, what game is this?"

"Majan," Iroh said flicking his eyes up at me. "You try to align the tiles in their respective groups. The more matches you make, the better your score. Would you like to play?"

Iroh paused his setting up the game as he awaited my response. I looked down at the tiles, rolling around the question in my mind, and hummed lightly while I took a moment to think about it. "Sure! Sounds like fun," I chirped as Iroh started to explain how to play. I quietly and peacefully played the game with Iroh, moving the piece around the board, not quite sure exactly how to play.

Soon enough, Iroh called out a word and declared that he had won the game leaving me dazed and confused as to what had happened. While I pondered over the board, trying to figure out how Iroh had won, Iroh leaned back in a relaxed position and let out a deep sigh. I watched him with curious eyes as he seemed to be in deep thought about something. I was just about to ask him what was on his mind when he sat back up with resolution. He stared across at me, with quite firm eyes that made me want to shrink a little, "I was thinking of what you said yesterday, in the market, about not being able to read, and well, I was wondering if perhaps you would like to learn."

My mouth stood agape as I took in his words. He stared at me with a kind smile as I opened and closed my mouth trying to find a response. I couldn't seem to find the words but my eyes started to well up with gratefulness. These past two days, while hadn't been long, hadn't been the easiest of times. I had been torn away from my friends and my heart already ached dearly for them. Then there was the whole situation with Zuko. And I know that we kind of made up, but it still took a whack at my mental strength. Overall, everything just seemed very foreign and I felt out of place in this world once again. Iroh saying this, though, made me feel a little bit more at home. I smiled brightly as I tried my hardest to push back the tears of happiness that wanted to form, "Yes! Of course! I would love to learn."

Iroh seemed just as excited to teach me as I was excited to learn. No longer would I pass by signs that I am unable to read. No longer would I not be able to read the books that filled the ship's library that I was itching to get my hands on. Immediately after I had expressed my desire to learn, Iroh had jumped into action. He urged me forward into the ship's library/study of sorts, leaving the Majan game behind.

I stood semi-awkwardly as Iroh rifled through desk drawers looking for something. I looked around the room. There were many shelves pushed up against the walls and all of them were full of books. I could only imagine what they were about, but I wanted to read them all. I hoped that they told stories of this world, maybe even give me information about the Fire Nation that no one except high ranking members of the nation would know. My attention was drawn away from the books at Iroh's exclamation, "Ah! Here they are." He pulled out supplies which looked like some writing utensils and paper.

We sat down at the desk and Iroh started to teach me. Even though we were just starting, I could tell that this would be a long process. Of course, the writing they used was characters, of which there were thousands. Luckily for me, I knew English. So, I started making flash cards that correlated to the characters. Iroh was very confused when I started to write in a different language. I easily brushed this off, just telling him that it was how people in my village wrote. Which was true, so technically I wasn't lying. I also had to use ink and brushes to write, which was an experience. Luckily for me, I had a great teacher. So, in no time at all, I was well on my way of learning their writing and how to use brush and ink properly.

.

I sat in a chair with cuffs around my wrist once again. Every morning, Zuko seemed determined to question me, even though I never told him anything useful and the time was filled with facetious remarks. These mornings were filled with a little dance that we did. Zuko would politely ask me questions pertaining to the Avatar such as where is he headed and what is his goal. I would reply back with nonsensical answers. Zuko's temper would slowly rise…who am I kidding? Zuko's temper would rise quickly. The questioning would somehow turn into a match of who would have the last word. Eventually, Zuko would reach his wits end; he would sit down in a chair and sink into the desk as he cooled off. There we would sit in quiet for minutes with neither of us moving. Then Zuko would stand up, turn to me with determined eyes, and the whole process would start over again. That is, until he had enough and called it a day. Fortunately, we hadn't had another crisis like the first day.

I was currently in the middle of one of these little questioning sections. I no longer contained any fear when Zuko would bark out questions to me with a threatening tone, and Zuko's words seemed to contain less anger than the first time as well. We both had fallen into a routine, which was good for me, not so good for Zuko though. We had already spent a good hour at the question and deflect routine today and I could tell that Zuko was getting tired of it. "Don't you have _any _information about the Avatar," Zuko almost pleaded to me with annoyance very clear in his voice. "He was your friend, wasn't he? You should know at least something about him!"

Looking at Zuko, he looked just exhausted and drained. I raised my eyebrows in sympathy and sighed softly. "Well, of course, I know stuff about Aang," I stated very matter-of-factly. "I know that his favorite color is orange. I know that he loves flying on Appa. I know that he always wished he had siblings. And um.." I paused, trying to think of other things that I knew of Aang. "Oh! I know. Aang loves moon peaches. He once ate ten of them in, like, fifteen minutes. That's good plan, you know. You could lay out a trail of moon peaches then set a trap, camouflage the trap, then set a bunch of moon peaches on top of it so Aang goes for the moon peaches and gets captured!" I excitedly announced my evil mastermind of a plan to Zuko.

Zuko took it just about as well as anyone could. He started maniacally laughing and raised his hands to the ceiling with excitement bubbling up. He shouted, "Yes! How could I not think of this sooner? I will surely capture the Avatar now and restore my honor!" … Ok, no. That's not exactly how Zuko reacted. His eyebrow simply twitched in annoyance and frustration, a gesture I had grown much accustomed to. Even though his outward reaction was reserved, I still think that inwardly he was excited about my obviously great plan. Of course, I knew that my plan was stupid. It's not like I would give Zuko an actual decent plan to capture my friend and the world's only hope.

I watched, feeling amused but also slightly bad, as Zuko closed his eyes and put a hand over his face. After a moment of thinking, Zuko came back to the room and sighed, "That's enough for today. Guard, you can release the prisoner." I looked over to the guard who sat on a chair by the door. I think that it was the same guard every day. He would bring me in, put me in cuffs, then just sit there and listen while Zuko and I bickered. Truthfully, I think he found it amusing, albeit a bit awkward as well. Zuko spent no more time in my presence than he felt necessary and took off out of the room.

The guard quickly undid the cuffs holding me hostage. I rubbed my wrist and, as always, was glad to have my hands back. I shyly glanced over at the guard who stood resolutely. "Thank you," I said softly. It was really quite awkward, the whole situation, I felt almost as if he been sentenced to babysit me. If he indeed was the same guard from the days before then this had been the sixth day he has had to do this. Should I be polite and ask him his name? Or would that just be awkward? The guard started to make his way to the door when I called to him, "Um, Mr. Guard Man? Would you mind me asking your name?" I sounded quite meek and my voice reverberated against the metal walls making me feel quite awkward with what I just said. Standing there uncomfortably, with the guard's eyes falling upon me, I wished I could take back my question.

I couldn't see the guards face, so I couldn't see his reaction, but soon enough the guard responded, "It's Chey."

I smiled lightly and relief flooded over my worry, "Nice to meet you, Chey." The guard nodded politely and held open the door. I figured that we would probably split ways, but we both seemed to be headed in the same direction. This led to us awkwardly walking next to each other. I wasn't quite sure what to say, or if I should say anything at all, but the uncomfortable tension between us was killing me. I took a gulp and nervously stuttered out, "So, I'm sorry that you have to go through that." I said this in reference to the interrogation with Zuko and me.

And that is how I became friends with Chey, a guard on Zuko ship. We talked as we walked through the halls. Eventually, I reached the library/study that the ship had and I departed from Chey. I stepped into the room and got prepared to study. I had managed to learn, solidly, about 600 characters. Which was quite a lot. I had only managed to learn that many because 1. I didn't have anything else to do, so I had basically devoted my life to it and 2. I was a quick learner and I was always good at memorizing. Now that I 600 down, I only had like 3,000 left for basic, everyday reading…great. I sat down and started making progress on the daunting task.

.

I stopped study around lunch time. What time that exactly was I couldn't tell, but my stomach was growling in protest, telling me it was time for a break. I went to go find the kitchen, but I hadn't quite memorized all the twists and turns in the ship yet. I stepped out onto the main deck and I realized that I had taken a wrong turn somewhere. I was just about to go back inside and try again when something caught my eye. I stood in the doorway as I watched the scene out on the deck. Zuko sparred with another crew member and on the side sat Iroh. Spurts of fire flew into the air in all directions. "Keep your root strong, Zuko," Iroh called out from the sidelines. Transfixed in the fight, I slowly made my way over to Iroh, making sure I didn't become burnt crisp, and sat down next to the man. "Rachelle!" Iroh said happily as he saw me sit down next to him. "What a pleasure to see you this morning."

"Nice to see you too, Iroh," I replied giving him a smile before looking back at the fight. "So, are they training?"

"Yes," Iroh answered. "It's mostly for Zuko, but it's good to keep the crew in practice as well."

I hummed in understanding. The firebenders threw punches and kicks at each other, and every now and then, Iroh would call out to Zuko with advice. Neither of the men were wearing the armor they usually wore. Instead, they wore much more movable clothes suited for fighting. Zuko wore a sleeveless tunic that showed off his arms. I hated myself for glancing at his arms as he threw punches at his opponent, but they were _nice. _Pure muscle that the gleaned with sweat. They looked so strong like they could just sweep me off my feet.

Woah! Take a few steps back, Rachelle! I blink furiously as I realized where my thoughts had drifted off to. I became flustered and, in a panic, turned to Iroh. "So, Iroh, how about going to go get some lunch?" The words flowed from my mouth all too quickly to be normal. Luckily, Iroh seemed too focused on the fight to notice anything unusual.

.

Sometime during the afternoon, Iroh and I would always sit down and play a few games of Pai Sho. Today while playing, I looked over at Iroh with a question running through my mind. I bit my lip, hesitant to say what was on my mind. Instead, I focused on the game below. I figured out where I wanted to move my piece and worked up enough nerve to ask Iroh a thought that ran rampant in my mind. "Iroh?" I asked nervously wringing my hands in my lap, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," Iroh shot me a kind look before he went back to studying the board.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to," I stated trying to be reserved. "I was… well, I was just wondering… You're from the Fire Nation. Not only that but also from the royal family. So, how… I mean, how did you go out into the world and justify the Fire Nation's actions? I mean, all the time that you spent fighting for your nation, did you think that you were right? _Do_ you think that it's right? That the Fire Nation is the supreme nation and is helping the rest of the world by invading it?" My eyebrows knitted together in questioning concern as my speech slowly started to speed up. When I had finished, I looked up, with wide-eyed, to see what Iroh's answer would be.

Iroh's face, which usually held a contented smile, now held a frown and narrowed eyebrows. My heart sped up at his look. I had obviously upset him which was exactly what I didn't want to do. Iroh didn't say anything for a moment, seeming to be thinking of a response. Iroh looked around the room, in which we were alone, and I jolted into attention as Iroh started to speak, "Growing up, I was prepared to be the Fire Lord after my father died. I was to follow the legacy set up by my father and my grandfather. There was no question that the Fire Nation was destined to control the four nations. When I was younger, I believed this. However, I had never left the Fire Nation and did not know the reality outside the gilded walls.

"When I first left to the colonies, my view was limited, but as time went on, I began to see what the Fire Nation had done. I was told that the Fire Nation brought wealth and happy lives to these beaten down people of other nations, but what I saw was much different. When I walked down the street people would either look down shamefully, not even looking at me, while the brave few shot glares they hoped I wouldn't notice. Not only that, but my soldiers would be seen bullying the people and treating them like dirt. I felt like I had been betrayed by my whole nation and I knew that what they were doing was wrong, but I was young and foolish. I didn't want to stand out and felt that it was my duty to stand by my nation.

"So, even though I knew contradictory wise, I continued to believe that what my nation was doing was right. I turned a blind eye to the mistreatment of the other populace. I did what was expected of me. I think I always knew it was wrong and that my father was cruel, but I wanted to be what I was supposed to be. Then…then something happened that broke me. When I came through on the other side of my broken state, I found that I was no longer heir to the throne and that my father was gone. I continued to play the part, however, of the royal family of the Fire Nation. Some part of me hoped that I could still change my nation for the better, but I mostly stayed to take care of Zuko.

"So, to answer your question, when I was younger I convinced myself that the Fire Nation was in the right. I now know that what my nation has done to the world is wrong. It has thrown the world off balance, a balance that must be restored by the Avatar. I'm sure that you have your part to play in helping him do so." Iroh gave a kind smile as his finished up his lengthy answer to my question.

I turned his last words over in my mind, wondering if they were true, but pushed them aside to respond back to the long story. I smiled back, albeit a bit more meekly, and softly replied, "Wow. It sounds like you've been through a lot." I paused for a moment before I sheepishly looked up at Iroh, who had gone back to studying the board, "Thank you for answering. You're just so kind to me; I wondered how you had gotten to this point considering your background. You could've been… a very bad person, all things considered."

Iroh let out a hearty laugh, "Yes, I could have." I let myself relax now that topic had passed on by. Iroh moved his piece over the board in a rather unusual spot that left me pondering over what his plan was. I stroked my chin as I stared firmly at the board. My eyes flickered upward as Iroh started talking again, "Now might I trouble you with a question, Rachelle?" I sat up straight and attentive, nodding my head for Iroh to continue. "You don't happen to be a bender, do you?" At his question, my thoughts turned to the past when I had just arrived in this world.

.

I had only been here for a few days when I found myself wondering about any bending abilities that I could possibly have. One day, I had awoken early, before anyone else. Instead of just waiting for everyone to wake up and waste time, I decided I could take this time to answer a question that lingered in the back of my mind: could I bend?

So, I quietly got out of my sleeping bag, making sure not to wake the others, and snuck off to the river bank. Luckily for me, we had set up camp not too far away from the river. It didn't take a long time at all for me to reach the rushing water that flowed past the ground. I bit my lip and started to think of how I would test this. I guess I would just try to bend the elements?

I let out a deep sigh and stepped up to my first opponent: water. As I had a stream flowing in front of me, I thought it the obvious choice to start on. I stared down at the water that rushed by with a furious pace. Suddenly, I felt as if the whole river could just swallow me up. I took a stance and held up my hands in a manner I thought Katara would. So, waterbending. It's all about fluidity and redirection of force, right? So fluid. I concentrated my mind on the word as I shut my eyes and swayed with the beat of the river. I pictured the water rushing down the stream, pushing itself around the rocks. I opened my eyes and focused them firmly on the water. I raised my hands in an attempt to have the water mimic my actions. And amazingly enough…nothing happened. Quickly, a frown took over my face, accompanied by disappointment, and I lowered my hands down. Deciding not to give up after one time, I moved my hands around in attempts to move the water in the river, but there was no change. I stepped back and place my hands on my hips. Whelp, it looked like I wasn't a waterbender. I sighed sadly but moved onto the next element.

I guessed next, I'd move on to earth, to follow the Avatar element sequence. I stared down at the ground and took the firmest stance I could. Earthbending. I needed to be stubborn and unmovable. I needed to stand my ground. I took a firm step forward and punched towards the earth…. Nothing happened. I threw a few more punches while focusing on the earth, but nada. This one didn't really surprise me. I felt like I connected the least with earth. It just wasn't me. I wasn't that stubborn and firm. In fact, I was quite laid back and I tried to be open-minded and willing to change my mind, not like the firm ground that we walked on.

Next on the list was fire. I opened my palm and felt excitement rise up a thought of being able to bend fire. First, I thought that I could just try to make a small flame appear in my hand. I stared at my palm and focused my thoughts on making fire rise up. I controlled my breathing since I knew that was a big part of firebending. I also tried to somehow focus all the energy in my body to my palm. But after a few long moments of staring at my palm, it became clear nothing was happening. I took a deep gulp and felt disappointment coming on. Next, I decided to throw a few punches, hoping that fire would come out of my fist. I continued to focus on my breathing as I leaped into action. After a few punches, it was clear there was no fire to be seen. I let out a breathy sigh of disappointment.

Still, I had one element yet to test: air. Hey, who knows? Maybe Aang wasn't the last airbender in this world. I closed my eyes and bit my lip. Deep in me, I prayed that I could bend air, that I wasn't just a non-bender. I gulped and tried to bend the air around me. I moved my hands back and forth in attempts to make some gust of wind. I twirled my hands around in a circle trying to make a wind swirl. I threw a few punches to make air blasts. Sadly, all my efforts were in vain. No air moved. No wind was felt. I was not an airbender. I was not a bender.

.

I shook off the daydream of the past before giving Iroh a disappointed frown, "Unfortunately, no. Quite a shame really." I let out a deep sigh of sadness, knowing that I couldn't bend any of the elements.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Iroh reassured me positively. "We each have our own unique strengths and talents."

I snorted at the obvious cop out answer and moved a Pai Sho tile across the board. "Yeah, I'm sure we do," I said with a smile on my face even though that was such a cheesy answer. "Still, you have to admit that being able to bend an element is pretty freaking awesome."

Iroh let out a boisterous laugh at my words which caused me to chuckle along with him. "Yes, it is pretty neat." A peaceful quiet fell upon us as we turned our attention back to the game.

Iroh's words, which really didn't make me feel any less sad about being a non-bender, did get me thinking about my talents. I always felt my talents were the following: being smart (I had gotten straight A's since forever), singing, and acting. I was good at being smart and creative, but I lacked in social skills and being physically active. Being here, however, I had made me crave to be better at physical activities, such as fighting. So, even though I wasn't naturally talented in the area, I had now spent many hours getting better through pure practice and hard work.

However, since I had been captured, I had yet to practice any fighting at all. It made sense since I was a prisoner after all, but I found myself craving to practice and to get better. To do so, though, I would need a sparring partner, and having a mentor would be a tremendous help. I bit my lip and starting thinking of earlier today when I was looking for the kitchen but wound up on the deck instead. I remembered Zuko fighting with a crew member, and more importantly, (not the arms, but) how Iroh yelled out to Zuko on how to fight better. Iroh had been a general of the Fire Nation and a pretty prestigious fighter. I wondered if he would train me?

Several more moves were made by Iroh and me when I spoke up again with another question, "Hey, Iroh, do you train Zuko?"

Iroh looked momentarily taken aback by my question. "I do. Any reason why you ask?" Iroh gave me a questioning look.

I bit my lip, feeling quite nervous about asking him this, "Yes, there is a reason. You see, I never really did much fighting before I joined up with Aang, but I started to learn how to fight because, well you know, we were wanted and on the run. And it's just that, now that I'm here, I'm afraid that all progress I made will come undone. And I know that you were a really great general for your country and you probably have had the best teachers in the world and you've been teaching Zuko, and well, I was just wondering if you would teach me how to fight better? And, I mean, I completely understand if you don't want to because I'm a prisoner and—" My nervous ramble was cut off by the sound of Iroh's chuckles. I sheepishly looked down at my hands and didn't look at Iroh as I waited for what he would say in response.

"I don't see any harm in helping you," Iroh shrugged his shoulders and grin in an almost mischievous way. "In fact, I'd be delighted!"

We immediately got to work, leaving our game of Pai Sho forgotten (for which I was glad because I was losing very badly). We went above deck and recruited the help of a crew member, Chey. Iroh asked me what I thought my strong point was in this matter. I told him that I had always been very flexible and gained flexibility easily. He asked me what my weakness was and I told him I never had a very good stamina. Then he told me what would be the best type of fighting for me. He suggested that I work to be fast and build momentum, that way I would avoid attacks and have more powerful attacks.

So, we got to training and we trained until the sun set over the horizon. We went through many different things. At one time, I worked on form. Iroh explained why I needed to stand with a certain base and why I should hold my arms in a certain position. Then I practiced the moves. Whenever I was off in my position, Iroh would come around and fix them. I also went through extensive flexibility exercises. I worked on backbends and round-offs, a lot of gymnastic type things really. Then there were the strength building exercises I did. Pushups, sit-ups, lunges, handstands and more. Worst of all was the running. So. So much running. Running in circles around the deck.

Many times during the training, I laid down on the ground and felt like I was dying. I would moan out 'I can't' and Iroh would come over and say encouraging words. I then would get back up on my feet saying 'yeah! I can do it!'. Then a little while later, I would be back in the same spot, but I didn't give up.

There was the slight problem of Zuko. He came out about an hour after we started and after he saw what we were doing, well, he wasn't the happiest person. It took a lot of convincing on both Iroh and mine's part to get him to allow this practice. It was Zuko's pride that got him in the end, because how could a little, unpracticed girl like me take down a strong, talent man such as himself. Well, pride and the fact that I also would have to take down all the guards on the ship.

When there was only the moon left in the sky, Iroh finally called a stop. I collapse onto the cold metal of the ship and my whole body ached with tiredness. I was afraid that I could never move again, but man, was that a workout.

* * *

Ha, ha, ha. So. I know it's late, so here's what happened. I took a week off because I was getting really stressed out about writing. So much I couldn't sleep. The week off, though, threw my whole routine off and then I just couldn't stop procrastinating. Anyway, I tried really hard to get this up on Saturday, but it just didn't happen. Sorry!

This chapter is just to show what Rachelle's daily life on the ship is and to do some Rachelle/Iroh bonding.

So, I hoped that you liked that chapter and continue to read. Thanks for all the favs, follows, and reviews. If you have any comments or suggestions about the story, don't be afraid to leave a review or pm. Thanks!


	11. The Great Divide

It was another day, and with another day brought another questioning from Zuko. It was the same routine but, surprisingly, I didn't find myself getting tired or bored of it. In fact, I quite liked it. Maybe it was because I could easily poke Zuko's buttons; he had so many buttons that it was hard not to. Was it bad of me to say that I kind of liked pushing his buttons and making him explode? Though, at the same, it was like I was playing with fire, kind of literally in this case. Plus, it wasn't very nice. I knew that Zuko wasn't in the best place, so maybe I shouldn't torment him by being annoying. However, he did kidnap me and keep me as a prisoner, so I feel like maybe we're even.

Zuko was currently taking a break from me. I noticed that he was starting to take more and more breaks in the questionings to regain control of his temper. His patience must be running thin. It was times like these, where Zuko was on cool down, that gave me time to think, and today my thoughts ran rampant.

I couldn't stop thinking about what Iroh said to me a few days ago about me having my own part to play in helping Aang. Did I really? Ever since I got here everything just seemed to move so fast and I got caught all up in it. I got so caught up in it that I didn't even really question how I was here, or why?

Why? Why? Why?

It echoed around in my head leaving me dizzy. Iroh said that I had a part to play in helping Aang, but how? I…I didn't have anything useful to offer up. I didn't know how to fight well, I didn't know how to bend elements, and yeah, maybe I knew more stuff about the spiritual world than the average gal but not enough to make any difference to Aang. I could teach him algebra or how to write in English. I could teach him some history from my world or explain basic chemistry and biology to him. I don't think that any of those things would really be of any help to him, though. I mean, I guess I could offer advice and companionship, but the others offer that just as much as me. Everything gets wrapped up in a nice little bow when I'm not here, why would I be needed? What difference could I make? I didn't know what the purpose was.

Leaving my own troubling thoughts, I looked at Zuko who sat in his chair and looked as if he was meditating. "Hey, Zuko?" I called out to him getting him to look at me with an annoyed expression. "Do ever wonder what your purpose in life is? Like what are you supposed to do?" In the while that I been here, Zuko had asked me many questions but I had never really asked him one before now.

I looked at him with a soft expression of lost confusion. He looked at me with a hard expression of annoyed confusion. For I moment I thought that he was just going to ignore my comment altogether. Then he raised his eyebrows, closed his eyes and gave a disgruntled sigh, "Prince Zuko."

There was confusion then a quick understanding of his words. I called him Zuko and not _Prince_ Zuko. I rolled my eyes at him. I understood but still. "Ok," I said with my voice dripping with sarcasm, "_Prince_ Zuko, are you going to answer my question?"

Zuko lightly glared at me for a few moments and I tried to hold my face in the most neutral position. After a few moments of awkward silence, Zuko deeply sighed, "My purpose is to capture the Avatar, of course." Of course. Zuko had a purpose in this world, even if it was misguided at this point. He supposed to be here. He fit. I let out a disappointed sigh and my face fell. "Now, since I answered your question, don't you think it's only fair if you answer one of mine?" Zuko continued on, showing his reason why he answered my question and bypassing my negative mood.

"Sure, I do think it's fair," I said giving up on my quest for answers and instead focusing on my usual goal at this time. "There. Question answered." As Zuko took in my words, I saw the eyebrow twitch and knew that I had gotten him.

.

Zuko paced back and forth in front of his uncle. Irritation and anger seemed to seep from him with every step he took. Not only did Zuko let his emotion show through his actions, he also showed them by his words. "Nothing I'm doing is working! I try to be polite and ask her nicely to answer the questions, but she refuses to say anything useful at all. She just sits there and sasses me. It's ridiculous! Then she knows that it annoys me and smiles in enjoyment. She's proving to be nothing but an inconvenience and a waste of time." Zuko seemed to run out of energy to rant on and deflated in a nearby chair. With his head resting in his arms, Zuko muttered out in a defeated sigh, "I'm beginning to think that you were right. I shouldn't have taken her aboard." Zuko had risked so much for her; he had saved her life when he didn't have to. All of that for what? A girl who didn't give him a single piece of useful information. He didn't even know why he bothered to keep questioning her. It's not like she gave him any more information. All she did was waste his time and patience, but for some reason, Zuko couldn't let her just go. Perhaps it was because if he stopped questioning her it would mean he spent all that time for nothing. "I don't know what to do, Uncle."

Iroh looked up from his book and saw his distraught nephew. Iroh sighed and put down his book to start working on the problem that was Zuko. "You cannot face every problem in the same direction. Perhaps this is a problem that can't be solved by just facing it head on. All you've tried is just to sit Rachelle down and throw questions at her, hoping that she'll answer, but maybe that is not the tactic that should be used in this situation. Perhaps, you should just try to casually talk to her and get to know her. Then maybe she will open up to you." Iroh watched as Zuko sat up with vigor returning to him.

Zuko turned his uncle's words over in his mind, wondering if that could ever possibly work. He supposed it would have to be at least better than what he doing now since that clearly wasn't working, but could he really just talk to her. It meant that he would have to keep his temper. No shouting. No anger. Could he do that? Zuko supposed he'd have to try. He stood up and started to leave the room. Before he exited, Zuko turned back to his uncle who had gone back to reading his book, "Thanks, Uncle." Then he left.

Iroh was filled with joy at the prince's thanks. They were rare and few these day, but they made Iroh feel as if he was actually helping his nephew. Iroh wasn't sure his advice would work or not. To Iroh, it seemed that Rachelle was a very loyal friend who wouldn't betray the people she cared about. She had often told him how she missed her friends and how they had changed her life, but perhaps by opening up to Zuko she might let something slip. This was something Iroh wasn't sure he wanted to happen or not. No matter what happened, though, Iroh hoped that it would bring the two closer together.

.

I laid on the ground letting out a groan of pain, "Awaghaaaawww, it hurts all over!" I had never said anything before that I meant more truly and deeply as this sentence. Every. Single. Part. Of my body hurt. Why does my body hurt? Because exercising is the devil! My whole body ached with a throbbing sensation that made me want to lay down and not move forever. I spent the past few days hardcore training with Iroh. Every part of my body had been used and I could tell. It didn't help that all I had done today was sleep, be questioned, and study reading, all three of which were stationary actions. Therefore, now that I was trying to move, the pain of buildup seemed unbearable. I know that it wasn't the worst thing to be dealing with, and I should just get over it and stop being a baby, but it hurt and I was tired and exhausted from working out 10X more than what I was used to.

I stared up with a hurt expression as Iroh leaned over my fallen form. Iroh chuckled, amused by my actions, with a pitiful smile on his face, "No reward is earned without first a sacrifice."

I groan lightly at the wise words. I knew that they made sense, but that still didn't make my muscles stop hurting, "Wise words are easier said than done." I sat up with a frown on my face, still not the happiest camper around. I was only getting up because I'm sure Iroh had faced this pain a great many times before and I didn't want to seem like a whiny brat, which really was what I was.

"Don't worry," Iroh chuckled sympathetically, "Today we are stopping a port to restock our supplies. While we are there we might be able to do something to ease the pain."

My eyes lit up even though I didn't know what he was talking about. I stood up and got ready to train another day away with pain and nauseousness. "Sorry," I rubbed my arm meekly, glancing over at Iroh. "About complaining so much. I know that it isn't much and I shouldn't complain. Just, this, has never been the easiest for me."

Iroh just laughed and waved off my worry. "Don't worry. I remember the pain of hard training. Especially after a long break of not." I chuckled and felt more relieved at the situation, then we got to work training. I took many breaks and made sure that I wasn't overheating or overworking, but still, it was hard work. The day seemed to pass by with painful slowness and incredible speed. It was late in the afternoon, although not quite sunset, when the small port came into view. We quickly wrapped up the training for the day and set out to the port village. Zuko, of course, sent a nasty and disapproving glare as he saw me leaving, but didn't say anything. There was still the soreness in my entire being, but it didn't hurt as much to walk now that I had worked out, just a dull ache. Iroh led me through the smallish village looking for something, of which I was knowledgeless.

I almost bumped into Iroh as he stopped walking. He appeared to reach the destination that he was looking for, "Ah, here it is! I knew that they had one here." I looked over the hut that we had stopped in front of. It was larger than the usual buildings here and there was a stone wall that covered the perimeter of the surrounding land minus the entrance.

We entered into the gates, going through the cute garden in front of the place, and walked over to the porch. There was a sign on the front which informed the reader of what the building was. I studiously looked over the characters to try and make out what they said. I gave a small glance as I saw Iroh smile at my observation. One of the characters I knew right off the bat. "Well, this one's hot," I pointed to the written word and questioningly raised my eyebrows to Iroh, "Right?" Iroh nodded his head at my correct knowledge. The next one took me slightly longer. I knew that I recognized it, but what it actually stood for seemed to evade my mind. The longer I stared, the more I felt like I wouldn't figure it out, but just when I thought I would have to give up, it came to me. "Pond?" So, hot pond? I was momentarily confused before it hit me. "Oh! It's a hot spring," I turned to Iroh with a smile on my face and a small surge of pride going through my heart.

"Correct!" Iroh confirmed my suspicion. "I figure the hot water would be good to relax your tired muscles. Plus, you deserve some reward after all the hard work you've done in both training and in learning to read."

At his words, I felt so grateful for having Iroh in my life. He had been taking so much time to train and teach me when he most definitely didn't have to. On top of that, he also was thinking of something nice and thoughtful to do for me. I simply felt as if I didn't even deserve so much from him. I stood in an appreciative shock as he started to enter the building. Before he got very far at all, I called out to stop him, "Thank you, Iroh. Truly. Thank you for everything, not just for taking me here to the hot springs, but for taking the time to train and teach me everything that you have. I know that I have taken up a lot of your time, and just, thank you for everything." I stopped myself before the tears wanted to well up in my eyes, because, as usual, I was emotional.

Iroh just kindly smiled over at me, "Thank you for your thanks, but it is no bother for me at all to help you. I actually quite enjoy it; it has given me something to focus on doing, which I haven't had in quite a while." With happiness and lightness in my heart, we strode forward in the hut. The inside was a quaint little area that screamed small town business, which made it super cute. There was a desk in the center of the back wall. On each side of the desk, there was: a door next to the desk on the same wall and a couple doors on the adjacent wall. At the desk stood an older woman who wore a kimono of sorts. She gave us a welcoming smile as I followed behind Iroh. I took comfort in the fact that Iroh was here to do any talking with the woman. "Can I get two private hot springs for the evening?" Iroh asked the lady.

"Of course," The woman replied politely, "That'll be one gold piece." Iroh slipped out a gold piece for the lady and she led us to our rooms. Iroh was led to a door on the left side and then I was led to a room on the right. As the woman showed me to my room, I gave her a shy smile. I stepped into the room as she walked away and I was by myself.

The first room was not the actual hot spring. It looked much more like a locker room for all my stuff. There were a few shelves, one held a few towels plus a few wrapped candies and the others for holding your stuff I assumed, and a bench to sit on. I stood there, alone in the room, awkwardly. Being honest, I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to do. Was I just supposed to strip down to the nude? The thought made me uncomfortable, but wasn't that what you were supposed to do? Plus, it's not like a had a swim suit. I could go in my underwear, but I didn't have a dry set for after. I guess I could use a towel. So, I stripped down till I was naked and wrapped a towel around me. I piled my clothes on top of one of the shelves and grabbed an extra towel under my arm.

I cautiously peeked into the next area, firmly securing my towel with my arm. The area was the perfect definition of what serene was. Stone steps led from the door to a small stone pool. The ground around the pool was made up of luscious grass. A small stream fed into the pool which created the calming sound of trickling water. The area was closed in by high stone walls except the wall adjacent to the door which was made of the wooden hut.

I set down my extra towel near the door so it wouldn't get wet from the pool of water. I walked forward towards the pool until I stood at the edge. I dipped a toe in and a shiver encased my body from the warmth of the water versus the cool evening air. It felt nice and inviting. Inch by inch, I lowered my body into the water until the only part not submerged was my head. I leaned back, rest the back of my head against the ledge and let out a sigh of complete relaxation. Iroh was right, this was exactly what I needed. Closing my eyes, listening to the sound of water trickle down, and warmth encasing my body, I felt the tension and stress contained within my body melt away. In this peaceful state, I let a hum escape my lips into the air creating a beautiful melody. It was not a particular song, just wherever the tune took me. In this moment, I felt a slice of paradise take me over.

.

Zuko strode down the street, not particularly in a bad mood or angry, just mildly frustrated. About what? Well, there was the fact that his uncle seemed to take every stop at a port as a chance to relax and sightsee, when in reality, the time spent at a port was meant to restock on supplies and gather any intel on where the Avatar could be. He had only gotten worse since the addition of the prisoner. Which led to his next frustration. The peasant girl he had captured had been increasingly annoying and still uncooperative as ever. Zuko really didn't know how much more of this trouble caused by the girl he could take. Then there was the fact that, despite his best efforts, Zuko had not managed to capture the Avatar yet.

This problem of the girl led Zuko to think over the words of advice his uncle had given him. Would casually talking to her really work? Could it really be that simple of a solution after the hours he spent throwing question after question at her? Would she really just open up and tell him? If so, she would be an idiot. Somehow, the prisoner didn't strike Zuko as an idiot. She never let anything slip and always stayed calm. She chose her words too carefully to be an idiot. Besides, even if it did work, would Zuko even want to go through that? The girl ground on his nerves and he wasn't even sure that he could get through a whole conversation with her without losing his temper. It seemed she always just knew what to say to set him off and he didn't know how she did it. Of course, Zuko knew that he was easy to anger; it was something he tried to work on. Still, it felt that she set up off easier than anyone else…except maybe Zhao. Maybe it was just the amused smile that haunted Zuko hours after the interrogation. She shouldn't be amused! It's an interrogation for spirit's sake!

However, at this point, it seemed that he was out of other options. He could keep on interrogating her which was getting him nowhere, he could throw her off the ship which meant he took her prisoner for nothing, or he could take his uncle's advice.

His train of thought was stopped, however, as a sweet melody invaded his ears. He was drawn away from his worries and frustrations to the sound. It enraptured him in a spell. Zuko turned from side to side, curious to try and find the source. He paced in the direction where the sound was the strongest. He stopped looking when the melody was very audible, only a few feet away but blocked by a stone wall. Zuko placed a hand on the wall as if he could just push it away and reveal the source of the melody. The wall did not move, so instead he closed his eyes and just listened. The melody was a hum of what must have been a spirit due to its beauty, even though Zuko knew it was probably just a human with a gifted voice. The voice was soft and full of life; it sounded safe and almost familiar. The melody seemed to flow in whichever direction it wanted, creating a tone of complete peace. The hum had that effect on his mind as well; Zuko's mind, which had been full of worries and problems, now seemed to be at peace as he focused at the melody. Peace was a feeling that had been few and far between in the past years of Zuko's life. He had forgotten how it felt.

All too soon, the voice stopped producing the sweet sound and Zuko blinked into reality. He frowned at the loss as, now that the distraction of the melody was gone, his worries and frustrations started to come back. Zuko realized that the sun had started to set and that soon they would be setting sail. He needed to get back and figure out what to do with his prisoner. So, the fleeting moment of peace, brought on by the mysterious voice, left Zuko and he was sure that it wouldn't ever return.

.

Being exhausted and extremely relaxed, the inevitable started to happen and I felt myself dozing off. I decided that it was probably better for me to get out now, instead of falling asleep in the pool resulting in me either unconsciously going under the water or oversleeping and leaving Iroh wondering what had happened to me. I got out of the pool and the cold evening air felt bitter on my warm skin. I raced to pick up the dry towel and get inside. It didn't take long for me to get dress and stash the complimentary candies in my pouch. I walked out and looked to see if Iroh was still in the hot springs place. He wasn't in the lobby, though, so that meant he was either in still in his hot spring or he had already left. We didn't really talk about what we would do afterwards or anything, so I wasn't quite sure what to do. In the end, I decided going to the pier and just waiting there would be a good bet.

I walked across the pier, no Iroh in sight. However, at the end of the pier, I saw an animal with the head and tail of a cat but the body of an owl. An owl cat I supposed. Whatever it was, the animal with simply adorable. I slowly made my way over to it, being careful not to scare it away. I crouched down and held out my hand to the animal, "Come here, owl kitty." I carefully took a step forward and the owl cat backed away with a cautious position. I needed something to attract it. I took a moment to think when it hit me. I reach down into the little pouch that held all my items I needed to carry. I felt around and took out a candy that had been given to me at the hot springs. I quickly shed the paper wrapper of the candy and revealed a chocolatey treat within. I took the treat in my fingertips and held it out to the owl cat. The animal started to gain interested in what I held. I was already decently close to the animal, so I stayed still and let it come to me. The owl cat slowly started to nibble on the side of the chocolate. Now that its defenses were lowered, I gently reached out and cautiously started petting the owl cat's head. The owl cat took the treat out of my hand into its mouth. As it was paying more attention to the treat than me, I became more confident in my actions. I scratched behind its ears and it wasn't long before I heard the purr of a happy cat. After the owl cat finished eating the treat, it came and nuzzled its head up against me as if begging for more. I just kept gently petting the owl cat as I sat peacefully at the end of the pier. The ocean sat before me as the last rays of sunlight still peaked over the horizon.

Suddenly, something spooked the owl cat and it took off flying away. With a disappointed frown, I turned around to see what had scared off my furry companion. Looking up, I could see that the source of fright was an angry, ponytailed teenager. Surprisingly, his current express wasn't anger but one of panicked regret. "Oh, um, sorry," Zuko stuttered out an apology about scaring off the owl cat. The last light of the day, in its golden glory, folded itself over his face which looked truly regretful for his accidental mistake.

"It's ok," I casually responded, not upset by the mistake in the slightest, "It would have flown off eventually." I waved my hand, showing that it was no big deal. I watched as the worry vanished from Zuko's face. Zuko stared down at the pier with his eyebrows furrowed in thought. I craned my head up awkwardly as he stood unmoving. I wondered why he was just standing there? Did he want something? Zuko's eyes darted from place to place and his hands flinched uneasily, as if he was nervous. "Is it time to go?" I asked confused by his actions. It was the only reason why I could think of why he would be standing here talking to me.

"No," Zuko said relaxed but left me all the more confused about his actions. "We're still waiting on my uncle."

"Ah…" I let out meekly in response, not sure what else to say. I watched as Zuko nervously ran his hands over his sides before he took a seat next to me on the pier's edge. So, there we sat, with our legs dangling over the edge, in an awkward, uncomfortable silence. I bit my lip and rubbed my hand nervously at the situation. We both stared solely out at the setting sun, only casting glances out of the corner of our eyes. The silence continued to cast an unbearable fog over us. I felt as if I could no longer sit in this awkwardness and decided to start talking, "Wha—".

Unfortunately, it seemed Zuko also found this an opportune time to try and break the silence, "So—". We both turned to look at each as we spoke at the same time. So, now we held each other's glances as we realized the mistake we both had committed.

We both immediately backed tracked to try and fix the situation. "Sorry," We both sputtered at the same time.

Our eyes widened in panic and we continued to talk over each other in an attempt to fix the situation, "No it's—!" We both stopped mid sentence realizing we had copied each other again.

His eyes were wide with worry and mine mimicked. As I held his eyes, the situation setting in, I let laughter take over me. I raised a hand to cover my mouth and laughter as I shut my eyes and leaned slightly forward in giggles. In a second, I sat back up with an amused smile on my face. I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear now rather amused. "You can go," I chuckled, finally getting words in without Zuko also talking.

"Ah," Zuko muttered looking quite taken aback by the spotlight being put on him. He looked quite shy as I observed him sitting next to me. Zuko seemed to look anywhere but at me while he cleared his throat, "Well, I was just going to ask why you were traveling?"

"Oh!" I exclaimed in surprise. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that. As the shock quickly wore off as I realized I needed an answer to the question. "Ah…" I stuttered not quite sure how to answer.

Seeing that I was struggling to answer the question, Zuko backtracked in a panic, "You don't have to answer if—"

Realizing that he thought he had done something to upset me, I quickly interrupted him, waving my hands dismissively, "Oh! No. It's fine." Zuko relaxed slightly but still looked tense about the conversation. I took a gulp and started answering the question to the best of my ability. "I left because I lost my home…One day the Fire Nation came and, suddenly, I found myself without a home and everyone I knew was gone. So, I decided just to travel. I felt pretty lost, but then, I found Aang and it felt like I had a purpose again." As I spoke, I felt more truth leak out than what I had originally anticipated. Of course, the part about the Fire Nation and traveling before I met Aang were false, but everything else was true. In fact, so true I don't know whether I had realized them before they left my mouth. Coming here, I did lose everything I knew, and for a while, I did feel like I was lost. However, being with Aang and the others, it made feel like I had a purpose, a home, a thing to focus on. I would help Aang and the others in any way that I could to save this world, even if it was just in little ways. I still wasn't quite sure where I fit into this whole world, but what I did know is how this world fit into me. This world gave me a purpose and place that I had never felt I had before. I felt found.

Zuko just simply replied, "Hm." I looked over at him questioningly, expecting him to say something more, but he just looked out at the distance.

Seeing that this conversation was going to end in an awkward silence, I took it upon myself to keep the conversation going. "So, what about you?" I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. "Do you miss your home?"

I turned just enough to see what Zuko's reaction was. He narrowed his eyes that hardened at my words. After a moment, Zuko slipped out his answer, "…No."

"Really?" I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. Zuko quickly looked over at me with surprise on his face due to my response. "Then why are you trying so hard to get back?"

Zuko looked plain flabbergasted at me calling him out. His mouth stood agape like a fish out of water for a moment before he closed it. It was like suddenly I had broken the 'get along' spell that had been cast on Zuko. He turned back to look at the horizon, except this time, he held an angry expression instead of the passive one of thought. "Ok, yes, I do miss it. It's my family. My duty. Of course, I want to get back. I don't want to spend the rest of my life chasing a stupid kid around in a boat!" Zuko finished his small rant breathing deeply. His harsh glared hadn't moved, but it almost seemed like Zuko wasn't just mad. It seemed as if there was hurt underneath it all.

"No…" I shrunk down in both my posture and confidence. I looked down at my hands that twisted around in uncomfortableness. I felt like I had made a mistake in asking the question. "I suppose you wouldn't."

Silence came over the two of us caused by the tension. We both sat wordlessly not quite sure what else to say. Zuko's anger seemed to fade away as we sat and I looked up in surprise as he spoke, "…And I'm sorry. About your home. I… I know what it's like to lose everything you know. And the people you love… I lost my mom and… I know that it isn't easy."

At his words, my heart filled with a lightness of happiness. It seemed like Zuko was really putting in an effort to keep the peace between the two of us. I don't know why, but for whatever reason, I was happy. A small smile graced my face as I lightly chuckled. "…What was she like? Your mother?" I asked gently hoping that Zuko wouldn't get upset by the question.

There was a large pause and for a moment I thought that Zuko was just simply not going to answer the question. Just when I assumed silence was going to be my only answer, Zuko spoke in the softest and lightest tone I had ever heard from him, "She was gentle and kind...She put me before her own safety in every situation. She was the kind of person who would listen and think before acting, always trying to see the world through other's eyes. She was too good. In the end, it just hurt her." I watched breathlessly as Zuko developed a faraway look in his eyes and a light smile on his face. But the rare and beautiful smile slipped from his face at the end of his words to be replaced by an all-to-usual frown.

"She sounds wonderful," I said softly with my breath still taken away. A small and kind smile graced my face as I looked upon the troubled boy next to me. "You must have loved her a lot." I bit my lip and said more than I probably should have. "Maybe one day she'll find a way back into your life." I hinted towards the future unknown to Zuko.

Zuko looked painfully out at the horizon, seeming to be turning my words over in his head. Suddenly, something changed within Zuko and he seemed to be done with the whole conversation. "Tsk!" Zuko muttered in annoyance before he hastily stood up. With his arms held stiffly by his side, Zuko looked around the pier, "Where is that tea-loving bastard?" I watched, taken aback, as Zuko stormed off down the pier, presumptively to go find his uncle. I let out an exhausted sigh as I shook my head. I don't know if I'll ever be able to understand that boy. Feeling almost dazed and confused from the conversation, I pushed myself up from my position at the end of the dock and started walking. The ship wasn't too far away and I casually strolled up to see Zuko yelling at Iroh, "We don't have time for you to relax all day at every port that we come to! There's stuff that we need to do. We don't have any time to waste."

Zuko's yelling did not seem to upset Iroh at all, who still held a nonchalant smile, "I'm very sorry, Prince Zuko, but when the opportunity for a new experience arises one should not pass by the prospect." Zuko seemed to give up on his uncle and stormed aboard the ship. I walked up to Iroh and stood beside him calmly. "I wonder what's got him in such a bad mood?" Iroh asked me as I arrived.

I shrugged my shoulders, "I really don't know."

.

Another chapter done and this time, it's on time. I hope that you liked and enjoyed the chapter. Thank you for all the favorites, follows and reviews. If you have any suggestions or comments don't be afraid to leave a review or pm. I hope that all of your Julys are going well. Thanks for reading!


	12. The Storm

Usually, each morning I would be woken by a guard banging at my door. Most times it was Chey who was at the door. I'd quickly try to make myself as presentable as I could in a few seconds before I'd open the door for him. Then I was led to the interrogation room, where I was, even though I didn't need to be, restrained. So, when the knock came from my door, I assumed that it would be just like all the other days before. My eyes groggily opened as I wondered if I could just go back to sleep. However, with a deep yawn and sleepiness in my eyes, I sat up. I brushed my fingers through my hair in an attempt to calm the morning mess. I stretched my arms up into the air as I felt myself slowly waking up. My arms fell back at my side and I sighed loudly. I stood up, went to my truck, and pulled out an outfit for the day.

Today's choice was a shirt that collared around my neck with flowy three-quarter sleeves. The shirt was complemented by a pair of pants plus a skirt that went over the top. The ensemble was finished off with a pair of tall boots that I had fallen in love with. Overall, the whole outfit matched the Fire Nation colors of the boat. I had only gotten the clothes out of the chest when another knock came from the door. I thought this somewhat odd, as Chey knew I took a moment to get dress, but pushed the worry aside, "Just a minute, please." Seeing that there was some hurry today, I quickly changed my clothes and gave one glance in the small hand mirror I had. I felt I kind of looked like blah. My hair fell limply, without any volume, an effect of the length and thinness of it. I had dark circles under my eyes, a combination of natural looks and tiredness. My eyebrows begged to be filled in and stood almost nonexistent on my face. I sighed grumpily at the sight but put down the mirror knowing there was no fixing the problems. I turned towards the door, grasped the knob, and pulled it open.

My eyebrows shot up at the unexpected sight at the door. At the door stood, not Chey, but Zuko. Zuko stumbled forward as the door opened with his fist in the air as if he was just about to knock once again. As I stood, staring in shock, Zuko recovered from his stumble with an embarrassed looked. "What took you so long?" Zuko said with annoyance trying to cover his flustered tone.

I didn't say anything for a moment, really still flooded surprise. "I had to get dress, didn't I?" I stared at him in confusion but didn't ask any questions about why he was here. I guess this was just something that was happening.

At my comment, the light blush Zuko had on his cheeks flamed up to a more vibrant color and he scanned me up and down to take in my dressed appearance, "Yes. I suppose you did." I stood there awkwardly at the door for an instant. Neither of us said anything. Zuko glanced away and cleared his throat, "Ah…well…this way." He waved me forward as he turned and started walking down the hall. I deeply breathed out through my nose, but closed the door and continued after Zuko. I walked a pace behind him. I stared at the back of him, the ponytail that bounced with each step and the armored back, curious as to what was going on. While I was curious, I also was somewhat apprehensive as to Zuko's actions. Had he finally grown tired of my remarks and now was going to rid himself of me?

He led me to the interrogation room, so at least that hadn't changed, but I stepped uneasily into the room as Zuko held open the door. I gave a cautious glance back at him before nervously shifting my weight as I wasn't quite sure what I supposed to do. Did I sit down as normal? Or did I just stand? I turned around swiftly at the sound of the metal door closing and saw Zuko striding in with confidence as if he was at ease with the situation. Zuko glanced over at me, and seeing that I was still standing, gestured to the seat that I normally sat in, "Please, take a seat." I rubbed my arm as a nervous gesture and turned to the chair. The inanimate object somehow seemed more daunting than usual. I walked over slowly with my heart beating at a faster rate due to the weirdness of this situation. I gradually lowered myself down into the chair and sat there with restlessness creeping through my bones.

Sitting here, I began to notice the unusual smell that lingered in the air. I squinted my nose up at the mist that protruded in an unpleasant mix of herbs. I let my eyes rest upon Zuko, who stood at the desk that bordered the room. His back was turned to me and I couldn't quite see what he was doing, but I got an idea as I heard the trickling of water. Sure enough, Zuko turned around with a cup of tea in his hands. He walked forward to me with a pleasant look on his face. "I made a cup of tea. I figured you'd enjoy it," Zuko held out the cup for me to take. Every instinct in my body was telling me not to take that cup, but looking up at Zuko's expectant face I hesitantly reached up and took the cup out of his hand.

The cup was warm in my palm and I stared down in fear at the brown liquid that squished inside. I clenched my teeth at the thought of it entering my mouth. With panic, I glanced up at Zuko. He still held an expectant look and gave a nod of his head to urge me on. I gradually looked back down at the threatening cup of tea. A fuggy steam rose from the cup and filled my nostrils, making my stomach flip uncomfortably. My eyes quickly flickered up with worry on my face. "Are you trying to poison me?" I asked with genuine concern.

His eyebrows furrowed in shock, "What? No! It's just a cup of tea."

I bit my lip, not quite sure that it was safe to drink the disgustingly smelling tea, even if it wasn't poisoned. I lightly swirled the tea and gulped. Whelp, it looked like I was going to have to drink the tea. I raised the cup up to my face and let a tiny amount of liquid trickle into my mouth. My whole body immediately revolted against the tea. My face twisted in disgust and my body shook with terror. "Urgh!" I exclaimed sticking my tongue out of my mouth as if I could get rid of the taste, "You are trying to poison me!"

"No, I'm not. That's perfectly good tea! I made it myself," Zuko shouted at me as if the problem laid within me.

"You try it then," I shouted back at him and shoved the teacup into his hands.

My mouth was still appalled by the nasty residue left in my mouth as I watched Zuko. He looked down at the cup with anger on his face and took a large swig without hesitation. A second later, most of the swig was spit out on the floor. "Argh!" Zuko spluttered with a disgusted and horrified face. He shook his head as if he could shake away the taste. Slowly, Zuko regained control of his senses. He stared down at the now half empty cup of tea with a look of disgust which quickly became overrun by anger.

My own panic left as I saw Zuko react to the liquid. I hadn't quite expected his reaction to be one of flared nostrils and snarled lips. I was even more surprised, and concerned, as Zuko stomped off to the teapot. Zuko slammed down the cup of useless tea with such force I was surprised it didn't break. The loud and sudden noise of his action caused me to jump slightly in my chair. My eyebrows knitted together in concern as Zuko stood, hunched backed, over the tea supplies. He muttered furious statements under his breath, not all of which I could make out, "Stupid tea…stupid plan…what was I thinking?...of course, this wouldn't work…This is what I get for going with this." As he spoke, his comments became louder and more auditory. He also moved the tea supplies around in harsh movements and slammed his fist against the table a few times.

I was quite concerned about the boy's seemingly overreacting anger about the tea. With caution in my steps, I raised up from the chair and stood a few paces behind Zuko, "It's ok, Zuko. It's just tea. Somehow, I think that we'll survive." I spoke jokingly and a light smile appeared on my face to remedy the situation. It quickly vanished as Zuko glanced over his shoulder with angry, and tired, eyes.

"It's not about the stupid tea," Zuko turned around with anger bubbling in his being. I mentally shrunk back but stood my ground against him. "It's about this whole stupid plan! I knew that this would never work. My uncle's an idiot for even suggesting it."

I narrowed my eyes at his comment, "Hey! Your uncle's not an idiot. He's actually quite wise." I don't know what it was, maybe Zuko's own angry mood was rubbing off onto me, but his words put me on edge as if I was ready to fight. My eyes narrowed in a warning to Zuko.

Zuko seemed up to the match and narrowed his eyes further back at me. His mouth snarled up in anger, "You don't know a single thing about my uncle. You've been here for only a little more than two weeks. You're a prisoner. A captive. A stupid, peasant who doesn't know anything about anything." He threatening pushed his finger into my shoulder and pushed me back step by step with each word. Soon enough I was pushed almost back against the wall, but I didn't cower. I stared back into his eyes with my eyes alit with flames of anger, as much as his. "Don't talk like you know anything because you know nothing."

I clenched my teeth in a state of anger that I rarely reached, "Nothing. Nothing! I know a hell of a lot more than nothing. I know that your uncle, he loves you more than anything. He would do anything for you. And you treat him like dirt. You walk all over him like he isn't even worth your time. I know that you have so much pent up rage that I don't even know how you haven't had a heart attack. I know that your rage makes you do stupid things that you are better than. You are better than not caring about people. You are better than hurting people. I mean look at you. You're just a ball of anger. How many times have you threatened me? How many time have you flip over a table or lashed out at someone because you were angry? How long will it be before your rage consumes you and all that's left is a monster? Just think of your mother! Would she really want to you to be like this? So hurt and angry—"

My angry rant was cut off by two hands slamming the wall beside me, locking in my head, "Don't you dare! YOU do not know what my mother would want. You don't know who I am. You do not know who my uncle is. You don't even know who you are! All those questions about purpose. You are just an ignorant peasant who should be swimming with the fishes!" Zuko seemed no longer to be able to talk through his rage. He twirled around and stomped across the room.

As he stood by the table, I cried. Most of it was because I was angry. I was so filled with rage that it was escaping through my tears. However, part of it was due to Zuko's words. They cut me. Zuko and I hadn't gotten along the best, but I still respected him due to my knowledge of the future. I flinched at the sound of the tea set being sent flying into the wall, shattering into a thousand tiny pieces. Much like Zuko and mine's relationship. I ran with fury to the door and flung it open. I rushed out and left Zuko alone.

I wanted to be alone, but while I rushed through the halls, I ran into Iroh. Literally. I slammed into Iroh's chest. "Woah, what's the rush?" Iroh said in a light tone as I back away. I kept my head tilted down to the ground, hoping he wouldn't see the tear tracks. "What's wrong?" Iroh's voice turned serious. Damn it. He saw them.

I looked up at him and, as casually as I could, wiped away the tears. "Nothing," my voice shook. Iroh gave me a look as if asking me if he was really supposed to believe that. I clenched my teeth and glanced down at the floor. "Your nephew is infuriating," my voice cracked. Then I word vomited the whole situation to him. "And I know that he's your nephew and that between him and me, you most definitely choose him. And that's fine. I wouldn't want it any other way, but he's being such a…an ass! And I know that he's just in a bad place and I try to be understanding. I know that he's a good person. I really do! But it's really getting hard. He seems determined to be the bad guy. And you know! Maybe if that's what he wants to be then that's what he'll be to me. Because I'm done."

I walked with a gloomy stride beside Iroh. Iroh looked at me with sad and disapproving eyes, "Do you really think that's a good idea?"

I let out a big sigh as I hunched over even more. "No. No, I don't…But I'm tired of trying to make a relationship work when all he wants to be is my rageful captor." We walked out onto the main deck. The day was opposite of my mood; the sun was out shining brightly and there was not a cloud in the sky.

I walked next to Iroh with tension still aching in my body. I had my arms crossed over and I was lost in my thought. Iroh was talking to me about something pointless as I stared out at where the sky met the ocean. I hummed every now and then in response to whatever it was Iroh was talking about. I felt like a walking zombie with the mental daze I was in. However, at least there was no tension in the air. That was, until, Zuko stepped out onto the main deck.

I turned at the sound of the metal door creaking open. My face turned sour at the sight of who it was. His face also contorted into a disgruntled expression. We glared at each other from across the deck with tension snowballing out of control in the surrounding air. It seemed at any moment either one of us might jump and attack the other. We might have if it had not been for Iroh. "Rachelle," Iroh scolded me in a warning tone while placing a hand on my arm. I looked over at him, the sour expression not leaving my face, and pursed my lips. I sighed and turned away from Zuko so that he no longer even entered into my vision. Iroh was right. There was no point to me starting a fight. I leaned against the railing of the boat trying not to focus on the prince behind me, but I couldn't help myself from glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. He held a telescope up to his eye as he glanced out over the ocean.

Iroh stood not too far away from me and I turned to him with an eyebrow raised as he loudly sniffed the air. "There is a storm coming. A big one," Iroh said taking in the air. I mimicked his action and breathed deeply through my nose. I smelt the sea salt of the ocean, which was a lovely and refreshing smell, but I didn't smell anything that would hint towards a storm. I guess I just didn't have the old bones to know it.

Zuko lowered his telescope and walked over to his uncle, which meant he was also walking near me. "You're out of your mind, Uncle. The weather's perfect. There is not a cloud in sight," Zuko talked, solely focusing on his uncle, seeming to ignore the fact that I was even there. Zuko stood by his uncle, who stood by me, and the tension rose to an uncomfortable level. I narrowed my eyes and tried my best not to stomp as I moved further down the ship. It annoyed me that I had to move myself out of the situation due to Zuko's actions.

"The storm is approaching from the north. I suggest we alter our course and head southwest," As Iroh offered words of advice to Zuko, Zuko saw me shuffle away. Glancing over he caught my eyes and gave an upset glare. I returned the gesture. We continue to give each other angry looks until Iroh turned his focus from the sky to us. Zuko looked back to his uncle and I snapped my head back to the ocean.

As Iroh finished, Zuko firmly argued over his uncle's advice, "We know the Avatar is traveling northward, so we will do the same."

"Prince Zuko, consider the safety of the crew," Iroh pleaded with Zuko to be reasonable.

"The safety of the crew doesn't matter!" Zuko shouted back to his uncle in quite a heartless manner. I clenched my fist and bit my tongue at his words. I kept my back turned and didn't say anything, even though I really quite wanted to go over and slap the boy. There was the reverberating sound of boots on the metal floor. I turned around at the sound and saw the Lieutenant standing at the stairs. The man had clearly overheard Zuko's comment and had an unhappy eyebrow raised. Zuko walked over and got right up in his face. "Finding the Avatar is far more important than any individual's safety," Zuko spit out.

I watched, with my nose curled up in disgust and my eyes lit up with fury, as Zuko marched way. "Tsk!" I let escape my mouth with Zuko's back turned towards me. I thought that I was far enough away that Zuko would not be able to hear the annoyed exclamation, but I was proven wrong as Zuko stopped his stride over to the door. My heart stopped and panic spread through my bones. I didn't let it show, though. I kept my face neutral and strong.

Zuko took long and angry strides over to me. He leaned over me with threatening eyes, "Do you have something to say about it, peasant?" The word peasant was actually spat at me from his mouth. Zuko's furious face was only a foot away from my mine, begging me to say something.

Even though my heart beat wildly away, I didn't let my neutral expression fade. I gulped before I spoke back, "Nothing. Just surprised at how easily you betray the safety of your own crew." There was never a time not to sass, even when you shouldn't.

I had my eyes locked with Zuko's; a battle of who had the power and control of the situation. His eyes glared deeper, "Without hesitation."

"Hmp," my eyes just as firm as his, "At least I know I'm better than you in that aspect." My eyebrows shot up for a second in a manner to test Zuko.

Zuko ground his teeth, "What?"

I smirked at his anger, "I'm more loyal than you. I mean all those mornings spent with you questioning and not once did I break. Did you ever really not know?" I narrowed my eyes shook my head. "I wouldn't betray my friends and their safety for anything. Besides, I wouldn't even just be betraying them. I would be betraying the whole world. Aang's the only hope the world has got at regaining balance. I would never, nor will I ever, betray Aang." I spoke slowly and firmly trying to get my point across to Zuko.

I saw Zuko thinking behind his eyes. "If that's the case," Zuko said before he moved into his plan. Suddenly, my feet were off the ground. My knees bent over the railing, the only thing supporting me besides Zuko's hand that grasped my collar, as my body hung over the ship. I yelped loudly at the sudden change of position. My hands immediately wrapped around Zuko's wrist and I tensed to keep my balanced. I turned my head just to see the long drop down to the ocean below. I turned back to look at Zuko with my eyes wide with fear. "Tell me one reason why I shouldn't send you overboard right now? You're here to tell me information, if you can't do that then you are no longer needed."

"Prince Zuko!" I heard Iroh call out in panic.

I locked eyes with Zuko as he counted down, "Five, four, three, two, o—" I felt his hand slowly releasing my collar, the main support that was stopping my plummet.

In panic and self-preservation, I broke. "You can use me as bait!" I yelled at him, "Tell Aang that if he gives up himself, you'll release me." There was a pause as the majority of my body hung over the edge while Zuko thought. Then I was pulled back onto the boat. My body collapsed over the railing; my arms hugging the top of the railing for dear life. I watched, breathlessly, as Zuko walked away to the door. My eyes narrowed in fury. I lifted my hand to flip him the bird and I stuck out my tongue. As he closed the door behind him, I collapse on the floor, leaning against the railing. Iroh, the lieutenant, and I looked at each other in awkward silence. I stood up, trying to ignore the prying eyes, "Let's just get started with today's training."

.

I stayed on the main deck for the remainder of the morning training. I worked for hours, not stopping for any breaks, afraid that if I stopped thoughts of Zuko would flood my head. It was something I simply did not wish to deal with today. At the current moment, I was holding a backbend, something I had always not been fond of, but I did it to get better. As I held the pose for what seemed like ever, I watched the world upside down. Crew walked passed me; some would sometimes stop when I was training and talk or even help. The crew aboard the ship were really quite nice. Iroh told me that he had handpicked most of the men which I thought explained the quality. Today there seem to be quite a lot the crew up and about. I wondered if they could feel the storm coming by instinct and were subconsciously on edge.

My position allowed for me to focus on the horizon. Sure enough, as Iroh had predicted, dark storm clouds started to roll in. Seeing that they were coming in, I started to get up. I could've just lowered myself down to the ground or even stood up forwardly, but instead, I decided to be fancy. I started to try and do a flip over to stand up as if I was finishing a back walkover. I pulled on muscles to move my body. I lifted a leg and tried to use my abs to pull my body back into a handstand. I just couldn't quite make it, and Iroh saw that I was struggling, so he came over and helped give that nudge. With his help, I stood in a shaky handstand. Iroh stood there spotting me just in case I lost my balance. I started to lower my legs down to the ground. I did so with a little bit too much momentum and not enough control so I stumbled as I stood upright. It felt good to be back on two feet.

I looked over to the clouds rolling in and gesture to them for Iroh to see. We weren't the only ones to see them as the crew started looking up at the sky. So, as Zuko stepped out on the deck, it wasn't really surprising that something was said to him. "Hm, looks like your uncle was right about the storm after all," Lieutenant Jee called out to Zuko with a smirking tone and arms crossed over his chest.

Iroh was wise enough to know that the Lieutenant's words would cause a problem. "Lucky guess," Iroh waved his hands dismissively and stepped between Zuko and Lieutenant Jee.

Unfortunately, the damage was already done. Zuko needed to make sure that everyone knew who was in charge here. Zuko crossed over to Lieutenant Jee, "Lieutenant, you'd better learn some respect," Zuko pointed at the lieutenant's chest with two fingers, "Or I will teach it to you." It was actually quite a funny sight; Lieutenant Jee, who was both taller and older than Zuko, being scolded by the young boy.

The situation could have been mistaken for resolved as Zuko stalked away. The Lieutenant, however, seemed that he could no longer hold back his contempt for Zuko. Which was really almost two of us. The Lieutenant called out, stopping Zuko, "What do you know about respect?" Iroh tried to catch the Lieutenant's eyes, doing a cutting motion of the throat, in an attempt to get the man to stop. "The way you talk to everyone around here, from your hard working crew to the lovely young lady to your esteemed uncle shows you know nothing about respect. You don't care about anyone but yourself! Then again, what should I expect from a spoiled prince?" While Lieutenant Jee continued to speak, Iroh seemed to give up on stopping him. Iroh sighed and put his hand over his face, knowing the disaster that was happening. I stood awkwardly next to Iroh, experiencing the secondhand tension from their argument. It didn't help that I was pulled between the two parties; I was mad at Zuko so I couldn't really support him but I also knew stuff contradictory wise to what Jee was saying.

Lieutenant Jee's words obviously got to Zuko as he turned around and quickly assumed a firebending stance. The Lieutenant followed suit. I watched nervously at them while Iroh put up his hands up in a calming manner, "Easy now." While it would have been nice if both of them calmed down and listened to Iroh, the tension still rose between the two males. Their wrists crossed with a ting, indicating that a ritual of combat had begun. Zuko was so mad that smoke curled up from his hand. Fortunately for everyone, Iroh stepped in between the two and in a quick motion broke their wrist apart. "Enough! We are all a bit tired from being at sea so long. I'm sure after a bowl of noodles everyone will feel much better." Iroh broke up the fight but the tension still lingered between the two of them. They glared at each other for a moment longer before they turned their backs and walked away in opposite directions.

Now that the situation was over, Zuko called out to his uncle without turning to face him, "I don't need your help keeping order on my ship." I felt myself tense at his words and slightly pursed my lips. Iroh walked over and put a comforting hand on Zuko's shoulder only for the teenager to rudely shove it off. I breathed deeply and slowly out my nose to control my anger. Teenage boy angst. Truly the worst. I pursed my lips tightly as Zuko walked all the way to the tip of the bow. Letting it go, I turned to comfort Iroh. I placed a hand on Iroh's shoulders getting him to look at me with his dejected face. I smiled as brightly as I could, "Come on. How about we go get something to eat?" Iroh gave me a weak smile in return.

.

The storm was in full blast. The wind rubbed past the metal exterior creating ghost whispers through the ship's halls. The thunder echoed in a sudden and loud accompaniment. The lightning would momentarily brighten the room through the windows before the dim candle light would return to be the only brightness. The ship rocked back and forth in an upset manner, making the ground wobbly beneath our feet. I walked beside Iroh in the eerie hallways. I wrapped my arms around myself as spooky shadows crept across the walls. We stopped at the door that led to the boiler room if I remembered correctly. The orangish glow of firelight showed through the barred window revealing that there were inhabitants within. Iroh turned to me and put his finger up to his lip. I nodded at the gestured and went into quiet mood.

Iroh gently opened the door and slipped into the room without making a sound. I followed suit. I helped the door close slowly as for it not to bang shut. As I did so, I could hear a conversation from the room float through the air, "I'm sick of taking his orders and I'm tired of chasing his Avatar!" I recognized the voice to be Lieutenant Jee. I tiptoed over to Iroh and looked down at the few crew members gathered around the fire barrel. They didn't hear us enter and we stood back in the shadow, invisible and unnoticed by the crew. "I mean who does Zuko think he is?"

"Do you really want to know?" Iroh asked stepping out of the shadow and into their view. A couple of the crewmen stood up in surprise at his appearance. I followed behind and let the light hit my face.

"General Iroh! We were just –" Lieutenant Jee spluttered out knowing that he had been caught doing something that he shouldn't have been, much like a kid being caught with their hand in a cookie jar.

Iroh raised a hand to dismiss his concern, "It's ok. May we join you?"

"Of course, sir!" Lieutenant Jee replied without hesitation.

Iroh walked down the stairs with me trailing behind him. We took a seat around the fire on the random boxes they had been using as seats. I felt bad for doing so as one of the crew had to go pull up another makeshift seat. I pushed away my frets as Iroh began to stroke his beard as he thought, "Try to understand, my nephew is a complicated young man. He has been through much..." And so started the story. "I was on my way to a war council meeting. Dreadfully boring ordeals, but on my way, I saw Prince Zuko arguing with guards. I asked him what was wrong and he told me he wished to attend the meeting. I assured him that he was not missing anything and they were just boring inconveniences. Prince Zuko, however, said that one day he would rule the Fire Nation and that it was time for him to start learning as much as he could. I told him very well but made him promise not speak as to not upset anyone in the council.

"So, I brought Prince Zuko into the meeting with me and had him sit next to me. The meeting was about Earth Kingdom defenses and the strategy of how to deal with them. A general stood, announcing to the council his plan. He suggested that the 41st division take on the most dangerous battalion of Earth Kingdom soldiers. But the 41st division was made up of entirely new recruits. Someone asked him how he expected them to defeat a powerful Earth Kingdom battalion. He said he didn't. They would be used as bait while they mounted an attack from the rear. At hearing the general's plan Prince Zuko jumped up. Zuko shouted that they couldn't sacrifice an entire division like that. That those soldiers loved and defend our nation. How could they betray them?" I smiled lightly into the flames at that part of Iroh's story. Zuko standing up for the new recruits. It reminded me of the good person he was. Something that had become buried in my mind recently.

"Zuko was right, you see, but it was not his place to speak out, and there were... dire consequences," Iroh lowered his head in sadness. I lowered my head and my mouth turned down in a deep frown as I remembered the rest of the story. Zuko's scream from the show echoed through my mind.

"After Zuko's outburst in the meeting, the Fire Lord became very angry with him. He said that Prince Zuko's challenge of the general was an act of complete disrespect, and there was only one way to resolve this..." Iroh had a pained expression on his face, much like the one that I held on my own.

Lieutenant Jee whispered out at the realization, "Agni kai. A fire duel."

Iroh solemnly nodded at the unfortunate correct answer, "That's right. Zuko looked upon the old general he had insulted and declared that he was not afraid. But Zuko misunderstood. When he turned to face his opponent, he was surprised to see it was not the General. Zuko had spoken out against a general's plan, but by doing so in the Fire Lord's war room, it was the Fire Lord whom he had disrespected. Zuko would have to duel his own father.

"When Prince Zuko saw that it was his father who had come to duel him, he begged for mercy...but his father told him to fight for his honor. Still, Zuko refused to fight…I looked away." I imagined Zuko's younger and unmarred face, full of panic and regret. I imagined his sweet voice pleading to his father. I so vividly seemed to remember his scream. I clenched my eyes at the thoughts and words that ran marathons around in my mind. I wanted to sob for the pain that was inflicted upon Zuko, but I only allowed for a few tears to well up in my eyes.

Lieutenant Jee was put in a somber mood at the new information about the teenage boy he thought was just a brat, "I always thought that Prince Zuko was in a training accident..."

"It was no accident. After the duel, the Fire Lord said that by refusing to fight, Zuko had shown shameful weakness. As punishment, he was banished and sent to capture the Avatar. Only then could he return with his honor."

"So that's why he's so obsessed," Lieutenant Jee said with new found understanding, "Capturing the Avatar is the only chance he has of things returning to normal."

"Things will never return to normal. But the important thing is, the Avatar gives Zuko hope," Iroh said ending the story.

A small smile appeared back on my face and I sat up straighter, "He always does." I stood up quite suddenly with renewed energy. I knew what I needed to do. What I said this morning was quite uncalled for and unnecessary. I needed to apologize to Zuko. He may not have deserved it, after all that he had done and said, but I knew that he was better than that and I was better than that. "I need to find Zuko." I walked around the several crew members that sat around the fire and rushed out through the door.

I ran through the hallways in an attempt to find Zuko. I checked in the interrogation room, which I'm pretty sure was also Zuko's room. I checked in the kitchen and in the bridge, but I didn't find him. I ran out onto the main deck. Rain pelted down on me, almost immediately soaking me down to the bone. I held a wide stance as the ship shifted from side to side, water gushing on board. My eyes frantically searched the deck to see if Zuko had come out here. Water poured down my face, over my eyes and mouth, making me feel very much like a drowning dog looking for their owner. I had the strong desire to curse as I realized Zuko was nowhere to be found here, meaning I had gotten soaking wet for nothing.

Thaboom! Lighting struck the ship at the bridge in a bright light display. I jumped out of my skin. My head snapped up to look at the force of nature. I had my hands up in a defensive position as if I was going to stop the lightning from attacking. I stood there, solitary, as the crew rushed out onto the deck to examine the damage. I watched in annoyance as I saw Zuko rush out with the rest of the men. Of course, I'd find him now. As the boat tilted in the furious sea sending waves of water on board, I wobbled-ran over to Iroh who stood next to Lieutenant Jee and Zuko. "Where were we hit?" Zuko yelled over the raging sea, rain, and wind.

"It was up there!" I shouted at the top of my lungs while pointing up to the bridge tower. Our heads turned towards the bridge tower that was smoking with damaged.

Our eyes widened as we saw the helmsman hanging off some rigging, dangling to what could have been his death. "The helmsman!" Zuko cried before he took off running. He quickly climbed up the ladder on the side of the ship with the Lieutenant close behind him. I watched Zuko climb with worry in my heart and my hand acted as a visor to stop the rain from blinding me. I nibbled at my fingertips of my other hand with nervousness of their actions.

I saw a light out of the corner of my eye that made me turn my head. I turned in time to barely catch the lightning going through Iroh's body and off the ship on the other side. I stared at him, wide-eyed and open mouth, in shock. Iroh stood there in a daze, smoke coming from his hands and his hair standing on the ends.

"Wow," I muttered at the sight. I knew that Iroh could bend lightning through his body, but still, seeing it was a different experience. I could feel the electricity in the air and hear the crackling. My attention was stolen by a scream resonating through the air. My head flipped up in the direction of the sound. It seemed that a rock of the ship had been too much for the helmsman and he had lost his grip. I watched in horror as the helmsman plummeted towards the ground. I ground my teeth together; please let Zuko catch him like he should.

The weight was lifted off my shoulder as Zuko caught onto the helmsman's wrist. Zuko lowered him down into the Lieutenant's arm and the man was secured and safe. My face lit up with a bright smile, euphoria of passed panic taking me over, and I had the overwhelming desire to laugh loudly. I stared at them up on the ladder. Truthfully, maybe it was the rain, my tiredness, or Zuko's heroic actions, but the older boy just looked plain sexy hanging there on the ladder. Heroism did look good on him.

Soon enough, all three men's feet were back on the ground. No words were uttered before Zuko shouted, "The Avatar!" I flipped my head around and, sure enough, there was Appa flying through the storm. A smile lit up brightly on my face at the thought of seeing my friends again.

"What do you want to do, sir?" Lieutenant Jee politely asked Zuko as the rain poured down.

My eyes flickered over to Zuko who paused to consider. He spoke with resolution, "Let him go. We need to get this ship to safety." I smiled warmly at his words. It must have been something about seeing his crew in the storm and danger that reached deep down within Zuko and made him remember the good within him. It made me all the more resolved on my decision to apologize to him.

"Then we must head directly into the eye of the storm," Iroh said loud enough for the surrounding crew to hear. Then everyone was moving around as we steered the ship to the eye. Within no time at all, the sea started to calm around us as we approached the eye of the storm. I looked up in wonderment at the hole in the center of the storm. It was weird, standing in an area of peace, where the waves were calm and the wind stilled, while just outside this area of peace stood the storm still raging on. Everyone one board stood peacefully as we came out of the storm. I raised a hand, letting the slight drizzle in the air coat it.

I glanced over at Zuko who stood looking somberly over the ocean, "Uncle, I am sorry."

Iroh smiled happily and gratefully to his nephew as he put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Your apology is accepted." Iroh wasn't the only one who smile at his apology. Iroh turned to walk away and I shot him a smile. He smiled back and I could tell that he was overjoyed by his nephew's actions.

Then there was an interruption of the peace. Out by the front of the ship, a very familiar energy bubble popped up from the sea. It was Aang. Now that they were in the air, compared to their precarious situation beneath the sea, the energy barrier dissipated. There, flying through the air, were my friends. My heart stilled itself at the sight. "Aang," a whisper escaped my mouth. Appa flew up and Aang looked back. I looked up with my mouth hanging slightly open in nervousness.

His eyes caught my mine and they widened in surprise. Then Appa stopped flying for the exit through the clouds. "Rachelle?" Aang shouted, sounding surprised by my appearance here, and held a large, joyful smile. "You're alive!"

I smiled back, although I shook my head slightly in confusion at his statement, "Of course I am!" Sokka and Katara clambered over to the edge of the saddle and looked down at me with equally enthralled faces. "Sokka! Katara!" I shouted and waved enthusiastically back at them. Aang started bringing Appa down to the ship and I paused. I started to pull back my hand and frowned at the sight. I felt torn. I wanted to be back with the gaang. I really did. I missed my friends, but the same time, I thought of the life that I had created here on the boat. I thought of Iroh and Zuko. I wanted them to 'rescue' me, but I also wanted to stay. I wanted both.

I didn't have to make a choice, though. Zuko did that for me. Before either Katara or Sokka had time to say anything, my arms were jerked behind my back in a restrained position. "Avatar," Zuko yelled out from behind me as I stood awkwardly due to him holding my arms, "I have your friend captured. If you care about her safety, then you will do what I say. If you become my prisoner, I will let her go."

I looked up and saw the panic on Aang's face. I saw the resignation and knew that Aang would do what Zuko asked, just for me. "Oka—" I cut Aang off before he could get the word out of his mouth.

I knew I had to do something. "Aang, no!" I shouted up to plead with the boy, "I'm fine, just go. Leave me! Please!" I looked up with my eyes begging the boy to listen. I saw him be taken aback by my words and he didn't seem quite convinced. I would not let myself be used as I tool to capture my friend. "Aang, GO!"

"Shut up, you stupid peasant!" Zuko screamed at me to stop my pleas.

Aang's eyes hardened at the words and shifted back and forth between Zuko and me, unsure of what to do. "Just go!" I shouted at the top of my lungs hoping that he would listen. I barely got the words out my mouth before a hand was placed on top of my mouth, silencing me.

"Don't listen to her. The only way your friend will be safe is if you give up yourself!" Zuko shouted back. I struggled against Zuko's hold to try and escape to tell Aang that I was fine. My eyes flickered in panic between my three friends. Aang looked conflicted, so did Katara, but Sokka held a more somber look. I caught his eyes and gave a firm nod, no worry in my eyes. Sokka understood. Sokka leaned over and whispered to Aang something inaudible to me. Aang jerked back, flicked his head down to me, then back to Sokka. Aang nodded his head and pulled Appa up through the sky.

I let my whole body relax at the sight. Zuko let out a roar of rage into the air. He forcefully let me go. So forcefully that I stumbled onto the ground. I sat there on the ground with a beast of rage looming over me. I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared. Zuko opened his mouth to say something that would probably be harsh and cruel, something about how I was a peasant and stupid and only caused him trouble. No words made it out of Zuko's mouth before his uncle placed a hand on his shoulder, "Prince Zuko." Zuko furiously brushed off his uncle's hand and stomped off in rage. I wasn't scared.

.

They hopped down from Appa. The three kids looked at each other with somber expressions. Then Aang started to smile, "She's alive, guys. She's alive!" The siblings face lit up in a similar manner.

Before they had time to continue on their conversation, the old woman saw them standing there, as well as her husband. "Oh, you're alive!" the woman embraced her husband in relief. Her voice then turned sour as she pointed over to Aang, "You owe this boy an apology."

"He doesn't have to apologize," Aang assured the old woman.

The old man scratched his chin as he thought of a way to comprise with his wife, "Mmm, uh, what if instead of an apology I give him a free fish and we call it even?"

It was a very generous offer, but unfortunately, Aang was a vegetarian, so a fish was kind of useless to him. "Actually, I don't eat meat," Aang politely refused the replacement apology.

The old man simply replied, "Fish ain't meat." He didn't quite understand.

"Seriously, you're still gonna pay me, right?" Sokka asked him about his own payment, sticking his hand out to receive it. With a gross smack, the old man slapped the fish on Sokka's expecting hand. Frightened, Sokka shrieked at the fish.

Aang and Katara started talking and soon the rain stopped. After the old couple left, they finally found time to discuss Rachelle.

"See," Katara said to her brother, "I told you that Rachelle was fine."

"You call being a prisoner on Zuko's ship fine?" Sokka raised his eyebrows at his sister. "Besides, I was just being logical. She hadn't caught up to us and it had been over two weeks." Sokka stroked the fire with a stick as he spoke about his thoughts. "I'm just glad that she ok," Sokka said in a softer tone.

Katara smiled into the fire, a weight in her chest being lifted now that she knew her friend was ok, "Me too." She glanced over at Aang who soberly stared into the flickering flames, "Are you ok, Aang?"

Aang lifted his head to look at Katara and sighed, "Are you sure that it was the right thing? Just leaving her there with Zuko."

"It's what she wanted, Aang," Sokka cut in with certainty. "She didn't want you sacrificing yourself for her. I know that I wouldn't want to put you in that position. Besides, she said that she was fine."

"But how do we know that's true?" Aang asked.

Sokka frown but shrugged his shoulders, "I suppose we'll just have to trust her word."

.

After I recovered from the incident in the eye of the storm, I waited. I waited so time would cool Zuko's temper, if even that could. The longer I waited, though, the more and more anxious I got. Worries ran through my mind of what would happen. Could an apology, a simple I'm sorry, really fix the troubled waters that laid between us? He was probably even angrier now, after the whole situation. I had given him a plan, which was working, then ruined it. What if it only made things worse? What would I even say? What would he say back?

Ugh. Too many worries raced around; it was making me dizzy. I couldn't wait any longer. I stood up and went to go find Zuko. I paced around the hallways, praying that it wouldn't take me forever to find him. It didn't.

I turned a corner and ran into something quite hard. I stumbled back and, with confused eyes, took in what it was I ran into. It was Zuko. He seemed just about as rattled from the run in as I had been. "Ex—," Zuko started with a light tone. As he saw it was me who ran into him, his face dropped into a superior, disgusted frown, "Oh. It's you."

I smiled meekly, wanting to turn away from his crushing glare, "H-hey, just the person I wanted to see!" I tried to stay upbeat, even with his opposing tone.

He frowned deeply at me, "Well, you've seen me so now you can go." I stared at him, quite taken aback. Seeing that I wasn't going to move, Zuko walked passed me to wherever he was headed.

Realizing that Zuko was getting away, I turned around and called out to him, "No. Zuko wait!" I jogged the few feet that he had managed to get away.

Zuko turned around with exasperation. "What?" Zuko asked harshly while rolling his eyes in annoyance.

His attitude set me on edge and I felt my courage slipping. "Um," I stuttered out while Zuko looked me as if I must have been an idiot, "I…I just wanted to apologize, for what I said this morning. About you and your uncle…and your mom. You're right. I don't know anything about you." I really didn't. I was starting to learn, that even with my knowledge from my world, I knew nothing about who Zuko actually was. "I don't know what your mom was like or what she would want from you. I'm sorry for acting like I knew things about your life better than you did. I'm sorry for everything… And I'm also sorry about earlier. It seems that capturing the avatar is a lot to you…and I'm sorry I'm getting in the way of that…I'm sorry." I looked down shyly after putting myself in such a vulnerable place in front of Zuko. I felt Zuko's eyes burn holes into my head and I daren't look up. My heart pounded in worry and I kept telling myself that it'd be ok. I had hope that Zuko would be kind.

"Don't need an apology from the likes of you," Zuko spit out at me. I looked up in shock to see his face twisted in anger. He looked at me as if I was a disgusting piece of trash.

My mouth and eyes widened slightly at the sight. I wasn't quite sure what Zuko's reaction was going to be, but I didn't think it would be this. "Wait. What?" I whisper in a double take on what he had said.

He started to walk away, then seemed to think better of it and turned back around. "Besides, did you really think that was going to work?" He gave me an incredulous look.

"Well, I—" I tried to answer his question, but I was just cut off.

"Just an 'I'm sorry' and everything would be all sunshine and rainbows." I looked down in shame as Zuko verbally backed me away. "Well, there's just another thing you don't know." I felt tears well up in my eyes from his words, full of rage and shame. "Life isn't some happy go lucky fairytale where apologies and love fix everything! I'm surprised you even know how to walk with how stupid it seems you are." By this time, tears rolled freely down my cheeks and my body shook with fury. "Your apology is worthless. Don't waste my time again, stupid girl." Zuko turned his back and strutted away. My body shook like a leaf, overcome in complete fury. Tears blurred my vision, but they weren't tears of sadness or pain. Oh, no. They were tears of rage, rage that I couldn't keep held back as it boiled over. I clenched my teeth as I saw Zuko walk away like a victor.

"Hey!" I screamed at him with every ounce of my being. He turned around wide-eyed. I smirked. "Don't think I'm just letting you walk away."

I was done. I was done. I was done! I! WAS! DONE! With his bullshit! I had the nerve to forgive him after all that he had done to me. He had kidnapped me. He took me away from my friends. He held a flame knife up to my neck when I was defenseless and scared the shit out of me. He sent me rude words and pushed me around. He interrogated me every day and I cooperated. He yelled at me this morning without any right reason to, because I was right! He held me over the edge of the boat and dangled me to my death. He made me betray my friend! He offered me over as a bargaining chip to Aang. And I forgave him after all that! Yet he still had the _audacity_ to sit here, berate me and not accept my apology. If he thought I was just going to sit back and take it, then he had another thing comin'.

"You think that you're so much better than me," I let the words roll off my trembling lips, "You're just a jerk who acts like an entitled prince bastard, when really, you're just an outcast who rules over a silly little ship because it's all you have! And you can't even accept an apology because that's how much of a loser you are. You know, I might not be royalty but at least I have enough _honor_ to apologize when I've done something wrong. Un. Like. You. You," I let the words slip out of my mouth like a venomous bite, and I stabbed him. I stabbed him where I knew that it would hurt the most, "Will NEVER have _any_ honor."

SLAP!

I yelped in pain. My head was turned. My eyes were wide. My face burned.

Zuko had slapped me, right across the face. It was with enough force that I stumbled to the side. The slap itself wasn't was the worst. It was the fact that Zuko's hand was so hot. Being a firebender and the fact that he was angry meant that his hand was very hot. A very hot object that had slapped my face. My eyes were open in horror and my lip trembled out of fear. With gradual gentleness, I raised my hand up to my cheek. My fingertip lightly brushed against the hot skin. I hissed in pain and immediately withdrew my hand. Tears started to stream from the pain. My eyes flickered over to Zuko with fury. Zuko looked scared. I clenched my teeth together. "Fuck you."

And I ran.

I ran with tears of pain, and fury, and fear, to my cell. I slammed the door shut with all my might. The metal rang through the air. I leaned against the door. The metal was cool, but my face radiated with heat. I felt the tingle of pain. I bit my tongue and clenched my eyes from the agony.

I stood up from the door. Adrenalin still coursing wildly. Somehow, with my hands shaking wildly, I lit a candle at the desk. I sniffled. I picked up the mirror still laying on my desk from this morning's rush. With fear, I raised the mirror. The light danced across my face, poorly lighting it, but still, the image was clear. A clearly marked handprint on my left cheek. I bit my lip as my jaw jittered. The tears welled up. I looked in disgust at the red and white mark. Slowly, sobs took me over. My breaths were ragged and my voice filled the room in whimpers and wheezes. The tears slid over the burn, stinging it. My chest hurt from the sobs that wracked my body.

I let the mirror slip out of my hands; where to I didn't care. I laid down on my bed. The poor, flat surface seemed even worse than usual. I sobbed. I wanted to be home. I wanted my nice, comfy bed that's warm and inviting. I wanted the sound of my room's fan that lulled me to sleep. I wanted my old childhood blanket and my favorite stuffed animal. I sobbed. I wanted my school and my phone and my clothes. I wanted to learn chemistry and read an English book. I wanted my friends and family. I wanted my grandma's chicken noodle soup and my mom to wrap me up in her arms. I sobbed. I wanted to be an American. I wanted to watch Doctor Who and anime and YouTube. I wanted a hamburger from McDonalds and refreshing glass of soda or coffee. I sobbed. I wanted to dance to EDM and sing to catchy pop songs at the top of my lungs. I wanted to be lazy all day and not have a care in the world. I wanted to ride in a car while I blasted music from my headphones. I sobbed.

I wanted to be home.

* * *

Ah, another chapter done. I was super excited to write this chapter and I think it turned out really well. I hope you think so as well. This was one of the chapters that, when I was first starting to get ideas of this story about 2 to 3 years ago, I knew what I wanted to do. It feels so good to finally write this chapter that I'd had in my head for so long.

Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed that chapter. I want to thank everyone for your follows, favorites and reviews. Every one of these helps me find motivation, so thanks! Please leave a review letting me know what you think about the story so far! I love hearing from you guys. Thanks for reading and hope to see you on the next chapter.


	13. The Blue Spirit

I fell asleep to my sobs. They were the only reason I did. My eyes were tired and exhausted from all the tears that I had cried. My body felt weak from the wracking motion and the constant shaking. I was lucky to fall asleep.

A sharp pain jolted me from my sleep. My face retreated up from the pillow. It seemed that I had rolled over to the side where the burn rested unprotected in my sleep. Sitting up in panic, I released my face from the pressure. I sat there in the dark, the candle must've burned out, with my wound tingling and throbbing with pain. I sat in morose. My eyes still felt heavier than the rest of my body. They begged to be shut again. I complied to my eyes wishes, closing them and laying back down, but the pain was too much. It seemed to haunt me and invade every corner of my mind. I tried to ignore it, just push it to the back of my mind and fall asleep. I couldn't. Then my mind started to play reruns of the events. It all just seemed like a blur and impossible.

I nuzzled deeply into the bed and waited for the time to get up. My eyes scrutinized the small clock that laid on the desk. It was only one o'clock in the morning. I waited and waited. The hands of the clock moved excruciatingly slow and each tick was an eternity. I decided that six o'clock was the earliest acceptable time to get up. It was agonizing to watch, then the clock struck six and I leaped up. I did so too fast and used too many muscles in my face. I hissed in pain.

I went over to the desk, pulled open a drawer and searched blindly for another candle. I went over to the candle holder and replaced the old lump of sad candle with the new one. I lit it. The addition of light stung my eyes that had been adapted to staring into the dark for hours. I squinted my eyes and pulled at my wound. The pain stabbed again. An occurrence I could see would be happening often unless I just didn't make any facial movements. I turned away from the light and deeply sighed. I wasn't quite sure what to do. I spent all those hours just waiting to get up and now that I'm up, I didn't know what to actually do. My searching eyes caught a gleam of light and turned to the source. My sight fell upon the mirror that laid on the floor near the bed. I reached down and picked it up. I sat down on the bed and took in the sight. A large crack ran down the mirror. It must have happened when I let it fall to the floor last night. Still, even with the crack, I could clearly see my face.

The hand print was still seared into my face. The red skin had started blister. The white skin was still white. The blistered areas hurt, but the white areas didn't. I let my hand hover over the wound, not touching it, just close enough to feel the unusual heat radiate off. Besides the burn, I looked horrible. I had deep bags under my eyes due to not sleeping. My skin looked clammy and white. My appearances reflected that I had gone through quite the ordeal.

I put down the mirror and left my haunting reflection. The burn somehow had seemed to grown eyes of its own that stared back at me and hypnotized me in horror. I closed my eyes and sighed. My body collapse down in terrible posture and I felt the tiredness seeping from my bones. I got up and dressed in whatever clothes I thought I looked the best in; overcompensating in my clothes to make up for the fact I looked like such a mess. After I was dressed, I came upon a road block. What was I supposed to do with my face? I didn't have any bandaging or medicine in the cell. I'm sure it wasn't a good idea just to leave it exposed. I would need to go to the medical bay. I had been there only once before after I accidently hurt myself training. I, then, ran into my next problem. I didn't want people to see my face, not with the bloody handprint on it, that, when seen, everyone would ask what happened. I stood by my door, knowing that I needed to open it. I bit my lip and opened the door, as much as every ounce of my being was screaming not to. I stepped out into the hall cautiously, even though I could see that the halls were empty, still afraid that someone would pop out.

I wrung my hands near my chest and my head won't stay still as it scanned every corner of the halls. Even though the sun would barely be appearing on the horizon at this time, much of the crew was already up and around. I blamed it on the fact that most of them were firebenders. It was said that firebenders rose with the sun. Whether it was true or not, it seemed to be accurate. As I saw, or sometimes heard, a person approaching, I would raise my hand and try to block their view of the wound in the most casual way possible. Sometimes it was successful, as long as the person passing me ignore me more than acknowledge me. Most times, however, people still noticed. It was hard not to notice. I think raising my hand just brought their eyes to the area, but they would have seen it no matter what. At least this way, they got the feeling I was trying to hide it. They would get this weird look on their face as they saw what I was poorly trying to conceal. I knew that they were probably thinking what had happened. Some would see it, look straight away, and then awkwardly pass me as if they had seen nothing. Others would flicker their eyes up to mine with a wide-eyed and curious look. I would give them a smile that was just a bit too strained to be real. They would meekly smile back. We would pass as if there had been nothing wrong when there clearly was. Along with the burn, I hoped they didn't notice the beads of sweat that rolled my skin or my all too clammy complexion.

Everything had been mostly fine until I walked past the kitchen, which I had to pass in order to get to the medical bay. The doors were wide open, as they usually were. I passed by at a fast pace, knowing that I only had a little bit more distance to my destination. I stopped in front of the door, almost swaying, as I heard Iroh's voice call out, "Rachelle?" I clenched my eyes and teeth together as I ran into the problem I wanted to avoid. As of right now, Iroh couldn't see the burn. He could only see the right side of my face, but if I turned my head in the slightest to see him, he would probably see it. I really didn't want Iroh to see it. Partially it was because I didn't want Iroh to be disappointed or mad at Zuko, which I figured he probably would be. I also didn't want him to worry or pity me.

I slowly back up to the center of the doorway so I was clearly in view. I looked out of the corner of my eye, making sure not to turn my head, so I could see out of my peripheral vision Iroh sitting with his breakfast laid out in front of him. "Oh, hey Iroh," I said like nothing was wrong, not letting my voice waiver in my nervousness.

There was a pause as if Iroh thought that I would do something more. "Where are you off to in such a rush this morning?" Iroh finally asked, seeing that I was not going to do anything else.

"Oh, um, you know," I stuttered, reaching up and scratching my head, as I came up with a lie, "Just off for a morning walk." In the middle of the halls? Not outside on the deck? "…around the inside of the ship." I realized too late how stupid that sounded, but it was the first thing that came to my mind so it'd have to do.

There was a moment of hesitation on Iroh's part and I knew that he didn't a hundred percent buy what I was saying, "Really?"

"Yes," I said with a firm nod of my head. "So, if you'll excuse me, I'm just gonna," I motioned my right arm in down the hall. I quickly tried to slip myself out of this situation before it got any farther.

I only got a step in before Iroh called out again, "Wait." I stopped and cursed the situation. "Perhaps you would like to take a break for some breakfast?" It was a very casual request, but I smart enough to know that it wasn't. Iroh was checking to make sure that everything was ok; if I joined him and acted like everything was normal, Iroh's worries would fade and he would know nothing was wrong. I couldn't do that, though.

"Um," I gulped. My voice sounded weak and hesitant as I replied, "Nah. I think I'm good."

"Rachelle," Iroh's voice was firm and concerned. I didn't even try to look at him out the corner of my eye; I stared straight forward and tried to focus on not swaying. "Is there any reason why you're having this conversation half turned away?"

I thought of the reason. I felt myself focus on the throbbing pain that wanted to overwhelm me. "Uhhhh, nope," I quickly said. The was an awkward layer about this conversation since I wasn't turned to Iroh, but there was nothing I could do to remedy that. So, I just lied again.

I accidentally lost my balance standing there and sway slightly. It felt like my center of mass was just off, too high. I quickly jolted into action and steadied myself. "Are you alright?" I heard Iroh say from far off. I heard the moving of chairs but didn't turn my head to look. I swear the hallway exceptionally cold but I still felt sweat on my skin. I must have a fever. My body felt like it had been placed in water and wanted to float away. I looked firmly in the distances and used all my concentration on staying still, plus standing. What had Iroh asked? I was drawn out my daze by Iroh's voice much nearer to me than it had been a few minutes ago. "You look faint." I started to turn my head to him out of surprise but stopped myself. I still was able to see that Iroh had gotten up from the table and was making his way over to me.

I felt the panic come over me. I couldn't let him see. I turned away from him to hide the left side of my face. "No, I'm fine. I promise!" I shouted at him as he stood in the hallway.

"Let me feel your forehead…" Iroh reached out to me. I tried to turn away and not let him touch me, but felt Iroh place his hand on my forehead. They felt so cold. I felt Iroh gently pulling my head around to him. I complied. I moved my hand and arm up in an attempt to hide the burn. "You're burning up!" Iroh placed a hand on my right cheek and brushed away my arm before sliding his other hand my left cheek. I yelped loudly as he did so. Pain shot through my body like a rocket; I bit my lip and tears welled up. Iroh quickly retracted his hands as he saw something was wrong. That's when he saw it, the burn that was blistered up in a disgusting array of brownish-whites and reds. "Rachelle! What happened?"

Every part of me felt broke. Tears streamed down my face; I was too exhausted to even try and keep them back. "It was an accident!" I cried out in a plea. "He didn't mean to Iroh; I know he didn't. And it's not that big of a deal, really. I'm fine!"

"Fine! Almost half your face is burnt." It was really more like a third. "You call that fine. Not mention the fact that you look like you're about ready to faint." He took my chin and guided my face so he could look clearly at the burn. "What happened?"

I hesitated for a moment and flickered my eyes down. I sniffled. I didn't want to answer, but I knew there was no avoiding it. "I got into a fight with Zuko," I mumbled under my breath grumpily. I saw Iroh's eyes narrow and he thought for a moment as if he was trying to hold himself back from saying something.

Iroh knitted his eyebrows and momentarily flickered his eyes up to mine, "This morning?"

"No. Last night."

"Last night!" Iroh backed away from me in panic. "Child, are you crazy? You should have come to me immediately after it happened."

I clasped my hands together and shamefully lowered my eyes to the ground. The tears that had momentarily stopped started again at Iroh's words. He's right. I probably should have come to him. Why was I such an idiot? "I'm sorry," I croaked.

Iroh's expression softened and calmed as he looked me. "Come on," Iroh breathed softly. He wrapped an arm around my shaking form, "Let's get you to the medical bay." Iroh guided me forward and there wasn't much ground to cover before we reached the medical bay. He led me into the room and pointed over to a cot, "You can go lay down there. I'll get the medicine going." I did what Iroh said and Iroh shuffled around the room, digging through cabinets. I put my hands under my head and felt the sleeplessness of the night before hitting me hard.

Now that I was here, I don't really know what I was planning on doing once I got here. I knew nothing of traditional medicine. Back home, I would have probably looked it up on the internet, put some Neosporin on the burn, bandaged it up and taken some Advil. But here I didn't know what ointment to use, what plants or herbs. I was once again at the disadvantage of not knowing this world. I watched as Iroh got herbs and put them into pouches. He had a teapot on the flame and a pot of just water. He put a tea bag in each one. He went around collecting different supplies while they were steeping. Iroh came over with a wet wash cloth and started to carefully wipe the burn. I wanted to cry out from the added pressure, but I bit my lip. Iroh then took the non-boiled tea and dipped a cloth into the liquid. He wrung it of excess liquid then laid it on my burn. I bit my tongue at the initial pain, but slowly the raging pain became a cool sensation on my face. He taped down the cloth to my face. Iroh then poured the hot tea into a cup. I sat up carefully as he handed me the cup.

"Here. Drink this. It will help your wound heal and bring down your fever. It should also help with the pain." The cup warmed my hands as I held it. I brought it up to my lips and blew away the steam. I slowly sipped on the hot tea while Iroh seemed to be moving around the room arranging and gathering items. I watched him with curious, but tired, eyes. I wondered how he knew how properly to take care of a burn. I wondered if it was during his time in the Fire Nation army. I'm sure that burns weren't that uncommon, since firebenders.

Then it hit me like the oblivious idiot I was. Zuko. Iroh probably knew so well of how to take care of a burn because he probably took care of Zuko's a lot. "Oh," I let the understanding escape.

Iroh stopped what he was doing as he heard me. He turned around with worried eyes, "Is everything ok?"

"Oh, yes," I said quickly, making sure that there was nothing wrong with me…well…at least nothing new wrong with me. "I was just wondering how you knew so well of how to take care of my burn, then I realized…well…Zuko and everything." My words got quieter and I lowered my head.

Iroh looked down mournfully, "Yes. I do have some experience of treating burns." There was a pause. "Not just from Zuko, but burn injuries weren't exactly rare in the army."

"Yeah," I sighed awkwardly, "I figured." I finished up my cup of tea and didn't say anything else. It wasn't long before a crew member was taking me back to my room. Iroh told me the best thing for me to do was rest. So I did, at least to the best of my abilities. I woke up once for Iroh to come change my bandage and for food. The rest of the day, though, I rested.

.

Iroh carefully pushed open the door into his nephew's room. The young boy was sitting on a mat, candles laid out in front of him, meditating. The sight made Iroh frown. Zuko only ever mediated this early if he was having a hard time controlling his emotions. "Prince Zuko," Iroh called down to the prince.

"Uncle," Zuko responded without changing position, "Is there information on the Avatar?" The Avatar, somehow, right now felt like the least of Zuko's problems. His mind swirled with thoughts and regrets about what had happened last night. He hadn't slept, not a wink. Talking about the Avatar, though, could let Zuko think that nothing had happened and that today was just an average, regular day.

"No. I came to talk to you about Rachelle?" The flames that were steady suddenly spiked in height as Zuko heard his uncle's words. Rachelle was the last thing that he wanted to talk about. Zuko did have to wonder, though, if Rachelle had told his uncle everything that had happened, if she went crying to him about what had happened. A pit of fear sunk in Zuko's stomach. He worried that his uncle would be against him, take Rachelle's side, tell him that he was wrong. Because really, he was.

"There's nothing to talk about," Zuko gruffly put in a short tone.

Iroh frown at his words. He could see that this would not be a simple ordeal. "Prince Zuko," Iroh reprimanded with a firm voice, "You know that this not a simple transgression. You have seriously injured Rachelle."

The words sent a wave of guilt over Zuko, but his guilt was something he didn't know how to deal with. "Not my problem." It made him sound like an uncaring jerk, however, it was the only thing Zuko could say.

"Not your problem," Iroh repeated in disbelief of what he just said. His will to understand Zuko was slowly being whittled away by his anger. "One-third of her face is burned and she's running a high-grade fever. She may be permanently scared."

"Jee, I wonder what that feels like," Zuko sarcastically muttered under his breath.

Iroh sighed deeply; he needed to stay calm and not let Zuko's aggravation get to him. His nephew had never had an easy time showing what he was truly feeling and he was sure that this was another one of those times. Iroh just needed to stay calm and help his nephew. "What happened?" Iroh asked after a pause, which he really did want to know more about what had happened. With Rachelle in her condition, he couldn't have very well asked her.

Zuko didn't say anything at first, then muttered out, "It was nothing." He thought about the situation. How he was completely infuriated with the girl before she came up to him. It was always one thing after the other with her. She normally got on his nerves, seeming to always know just the right things to say, but yesterday was a whole different level. First, it was her arguing with him after he had tried so hard to be nice and polite. He even made a pot of tea! Then she had the nerve to scoff him and say that she was better than him. Then during the storm, when things might have actually been looking up, she ruined everything again. Zuko could have had the Avatar, he was starting to say yes, but then she butted her away in. He was already angry at her. Then she brought him down with her words. The things she said, he couldn't help but feel a slight truth in them. He really didn't have any honor. Perhaps that's the reason why they got to him so much, her words, because they weren't ridiculous nonsense, they seemed correct. It wasn't just her that he had gotten angry at, but it was everything. "She's just so infuriating!" Zuko shouted letting his emotion slowly poured out. "And she was insulting me. And I let my anger take control of me, because no matter how much I seem to try and control it, it just keeps growing out of control."

Zuko's voice held a sliver of desperation. Iroh sighed and softly looked down upon his cherished nephew. It hurt him to see him so troubled, but he was relieved to hear that he did feel regretful for what he did. "Prince Zuko, I think I'd be for the best if you apologized to her," Iroh suggested advice to Zuko in how to better this situation.

"You think that I don't know that!" Zuko shouted in emotional anguish, "You think that it's not eating me up on the inside. I haven't even slept. How could I have done that? I just kept staring up at the ceiling wondering how I let that happen! But…how can I just apologize?" Especially after what he had said to her about just apologizing. "If I was her, I wouldn't ever want to see my face again, let alone hear a pathetic apology." Zuko, downtrodden, slumped over.

"If that's the case," Iroh started, seeing that Zuko would need a little help getting started, "Then how about you go with me for dinner tonight?" Iroh always ate dinner with Rachelle. Maybe if he just got the two together, they would remedy the situation themselves.

Zuko furrowed his eyebrows in confusion of what his uncle was asking and turned around to look at the man. He didn't see how coming to dinner would help this situation, "Why?"

"Trust me."

"Uncle…" Zuko continued to hesitate. He saw Iroh tilt his head as if to say just do it. Zuko sighed and begrudgingly accepted, "Ok."

.

It was dinner time. I had laid in bed all day, but Iroh said, that if I was up to it, he thought it'd be good for me to go down and eat dinner. I agree. Of course, at the time, I didn't know quite what I was agreeing to. Most days I ate dinner with Iroh, maybe a few of the crew. I didn't think that today would be any different.

I sat at the table. I still didn't feel the best, my face throbbed and I felt weak, but I felt much more rested and together. I was quite looking forward to some delicious food and pleasant conversation. I chatted happily with Iroh about nothings and, for the first time, felt better about my face. It was nice. That was, until Zuko walked in.

"Un—" Zuko pronounced as he entered before he saw me sitting at the table. Iroh and I looked up at Zuko. The tensions immediately went from 0 to 100. I glared deeply and full of anger at Zuko. He also glared, although he had not really the reason to. Then his eyes flickered down and saw my face bandaged. He his eyes softened. I wanted to scoff at his action, but I just rolled my eyes.

I looked around confused for a second before I turned over to Iroh, "Huh? Did you hear something, Iroh?" Iroh looked very confused, so did Zuko but we don't care about him, as Zuko was the one who had made a sound. "Hm," I said shrugging my shoulders, "I suppose it was just the wind." I knew that it was childish and petty, to pretend that Zuko just wasn't there, but you know what, I didn't really care if it was. Iroh awkwardly looked over at Zuko who stood at the door shifted uneasily.

Zuko started making his way over to the table, in my direction. "Prince Z—" Iroh tried to call out to the boy to get him to stop.

"I'm not the wind," Zuko said with a peeved off expression and annoyance. With restrained forcefulness, he sat down at the table. Unfortunately, in the seat across from me.

"Oh!" I exclaimed in surprise, "There it is again." Zuko's frown deepened and his eyebrow twitched. "It must be pretty windy this evening."

Zuko pounded his fist down onto the table and opened his mouth to say something else. Luckily, Iroh cut him off, "Prince Zuko." It was said as a warning. Iroh and Zuko locked their eyes and seemed to be exchanging a conversation. Zuko sighed all the air out of this lungs in a dramatic way, as if what he was doing was the biggest inconvenience.

I still just ignore the fact that he was even there. "Oh, do you need someone to go get his royal pain in the ass?" Iroh opened his eyes in shock and Zuko shot back up in anger. "Oops. Sorry," I smile innocently as if I had accidently said my previous statement, "I meant the royal dick head. Gosh, dang! I did it again. The prince. Do you need someone to go get the prince?" I held a mischievous glint in my eyes and the smallest of grins. I looked at Iroh with questioning eyebrows. He gave me a disapproving look and was telling me to stop. I sighed lightly but shrugged my shoulder. "Very well. If you insist." My words, however, had already gotten to Zuko who sat with breathing deeply and held a nasty glare.

Fortunately for all of us, the food was brought out at that moment. It was a seafood delight. The silence that sat between us was very awkward as we started to eat our meals. I didn't look up from my food and neither did Zuko. That left Iroh uncomfortably glancing between the two of us. Iroh cleared his throat and both of us simultaneously looked up at him. Now that he had our eyes, Iroh seemed unsure if he wanted them. "So, the food is pretty delicious, no?" Iroh stumbled out with the two teenagers firmly staring at him.

"Yes," Both Zuko and I replied at the same time. The tension climbed even higher as we both knew what happened and both of us refused to look at the other.

"Ah, yes," Iroh continued to try and break away at the tension. "It is quite good."

Then, once again, there was silence. "So," I started hesitantly, pushing grains of rice around on my plate. "How was today? Since I was asleep for most of it."

"It was pretty boring, especially without your lovely company," Iroh flattered me. I chuckled light and felt a slight enjoyment of this situation return.

That was, until Zuko muttered under his breath, "If she wanted to know how today was she should have just stayed awake."

I quickly snapped my head over to him and I locked my jaw in anger. "Well, maybe I would have if someone hadn't burned my face," I said through my gritted teeth, astounded in disbelief that Zuko had actually said that.

"Well, that's not my fault is it," He muttered grumpily under his breath.

Not his fault! What a pretentious bastard. I stood up in anger and shouted down at him, "Not your fault. You're the one who slapped me, you son of a bitch!"

"What did you say?" Zuko stood up in fury. We glared at each with ferocity unseen by anyone ever and, even though there was a table between us, I might just jump over it and attack him.

Our glares were interrupted by Iroh's shouting, "That's enough, you two! Sit down and eat your dinner." We grumbled, but we both complied to Iroh. He so rarely raised his voice that it was actually quite scary.

We went back to eating in silence, no one brave enough to try talking again, least not another yelling match occur. I reached out with my chopsticks to get the last crab cake that was laid out on the table. Looking down at the ends of the chopsticks, I saw another pair reaching for the same food I was. The chopsticks came from the opposing side from me. That meant that it was Zuko reaching for them. I kept my eyes on the crab cake and daren't look up. I drew my mouth into line in frustration with this whole situation and I started to shake with anger. After everything, all I wanted was a nice and relaxing dinner. This dinner had proven to be the opposite. I clenched tightly the chopsticks in my hand. I pulled them back and, with much too much force, slammed them down onto the table. I stood up quickly and forcefully. I turn to Iroh with a weary and panicked face, "I'm sorry, Iroh, but this is just too much. I'll just finish up dinner in my room. Later." I grabbed my plate of remaining food and chopsticks before I left the dining hall. I heard Iroh call out to stop me but I just ignore him. I went back to my confining cell of dreariness and ate my dinner alone. There was something so lonely and sad about eating a dinner by yourself. I didn't even have a TV to be my company. I just sat in the silence and ate. I felt loneliness and sadness grip my soul. It reminded me of how I felt last night. I ate more sluggishly than normal, the food feeling claustrophobic in my mouth, and started to slowly cry while I chewed.

After I finished, I put the plates on the desk and laid down with an emptiness in my chest. I stared into oblivion until there was a knock at the door. I apathetically sat up and watched the door open. Iroh stepped into the room carrying a tray full of items. "Iroh?" I questioned in confusion of what he was doing here.

"You need to have your bandages changed," Iroh explained simply. I nodded my head in understanding as Iroh sat down his tray of objects. He picked up the large bowl of water and pulled a chair over to where I sat. Iroh held the bowl in both hands and I rested my burnt and bandaged face into it. It felt nice. It not only cooled down my skin but it also allowed it so the bandage would not stick to my face when it was taken off. Only silence filled the candlelit room. "…Look I'm sorry about tonight," Iroh softly apologized to me. "My nephew just has a hard time expressing how he truly feels."

"It's ok, Iroh," I pushed aside his worries and monotonously stared at the grey metal wall. "You don't need to apologize for Zuko's actions. The only person can do that is Zuko. Although its seems that he won't be." I muttered the last statement underneath my breath in an annoyed tone. I paused for a moment before I spoke again, "I'm sorry, though. About how I acted. I know that it was childish and immature, but…I'm so upset with Zuko. It doesn't make is easier that he obviously is not apologetic. If he apologized, and truly meant it, I'd probably just push this whole situation behind us. But that doesn't seem to be happening."

Iroh sighed deeply as he pulled the bowl away and I sat up. Water dripped down my face as I lethargically watched him. "I know that it may not seem like it, but he does truthfully regret his actions," As he spoke, he worked on cautiously pulling off the bandage, careful not to pull the delicate skin around the burn. He words gave birth to a tiny seed of hope that maybe what he said was true and maybe, one day, things would go back to normal between Zuko and me.

I didn't say anything in response. Iroh successfully managed to remove the bandage from my face without any casualty skin. He relaxed back in the chair as he sat the old disgusting bandage down on the tray. When he turned back, I spoke with nervousness, "So? How does it look?"

I could see Iroh's eyes scanning observantly over the wound, "It looks good. Really good actually. Much better than this morning." I hummed happily at the news as Iroh started to patch me up again. I was really hoping that it wouldn't scar. I knew that it was a vain hope. It was a pretty serious burn, so there would probably be some scarring. I would probably be stuck with Zuko's handprint forever now. Maybe I'd get a tattoo over it. Something cool and artistic. Although, I don't know if I'd trust the tattoo quality of this world.

It didn't take long for Iroh to finish bandaging me and he grabbed all of his stuff to leave. Before he left, he handed me another cup of tea and told me to drink it. I drank it after he left and faded back to sleep.

.

It had been three days since I acquired my burn. I was sitting around the Pai Sho table in the bridge, watching a game of Pai Sho, which was what I had been doing most of the morning. I was temporarily not allowed to train at the moment due to my wound. Quite saddening really, I think I would have taken solace in training. Iroh sat on my right and another crew member sat on my left. They were the ones playing this match. A couple other crew members sat around watching the match. There had been bets taken that Iroh couldn't win the game in twenty turns. I had teamed up with Iroh and helped convince the crew members that it was an impossible feat and that there was no way Iroh could win. I got them to raise their bets quite a decent amount.

We weren't the only people in the bridge, though. Unfortunately, Zuko and the Lieutenant were also in here. I didn't mind the Lieutenant at all, actually, we got along quite well, but it was Zuko who I wished wasn't here. They leaned over a map and talked about the next move in the Avatar chase. I tried my best to just ignore them, but as I stared firmly at the Pai Sho board my ears listened to their conversation.

"We haven't been able to pick up the Avatar's trail since the storm. But, if we continue heading northeast – " Lieutenant Jee's plan was cut off as a gigantic shadow cast over the room. Everyone's head snapped up to see what caused the sudden change in lighting. Looking out the window, an enormous Fire Navy ship was drawing up next to us.

As we all stared out the window, in a mixture of confusion and worry, Zuko whispered, "What do they want?"

"Perhaps a sporting game of Pai Sho!" Iroh hummed hopefully.

I gave him glance and a skeptical look. "Yeah," I sarcastically agreed. "I'm sure that's what they want." A little huff of amusement escaped Zuko at my statement and my eyes quickly snapped to his. Since the incident, we had avoided direct contact between the two of us at all times. We both stared at each other in the realization of what had happened. We both silently agree that we'd pretend this never happened.

Not long after the ship arrived, three Fire Nation soldiers made their way into the room. Their presence made me really uneasy. Being completely honest, Zhao scared the crap out of me. I don't even know if Zhao knows that I was traveling with the Avatar, but I still feel like one of them was going to kidnap me. I know that this they wouldn't know that I was with Aang, but I still worried they would see me and shout 'Hey! You know the Avatar. Come with me.' Then I'd be carted off and it'd be so sad. So, I nervously slouched and tried to make myself invisible. The leader of the group unrolled a scroll, showing a drawing of Aang, and spoke firmly to Zuko, "The hunt for the Avatar has been given prime importance. All information regarding the Avatar must be reported directly to Admiral Zhao." As he finished speaking, he closed the scroll and put it behind his back. The Fire Nation soldier stood authoritatively as he stared down Zuko. Zuko stood there with a grumpy face and his arms crossed.

"Zhao has been promoted?" Iroh said much too casually. Could he not tell that my heart felt like it was going to explode? "Well, good for him!" Iroh pushed his tile into the center of the board, winning the game. The two crew members' across from me faces morphed into a displeased expression at the sight, knowing they had lost their bets. One even slapped his face at the regretful decision.

"I've got nothing to report to Zhao. Now get off my ship and let us pass," Zuko grumbled out to the guards. I could tell that he was trying to hold back his temper.

The soldier was ignorant enough to continue to push Zuko, "Admiral Zhao is not allowing ships in or out of this area."

"Off my ship!" Zuko shouted in rage to the man. He lunged forward and pointed over to their ship. It felt nice not to be the one Zuko was yelling out this time.

I spared a glance over to the Fire Nation soldiers as they left. Finally. I felt the tension pent up from the presence release as I turned back to the Pai Sho table. Iroh held a grin as the bets were laid out on the table in a pile. "Excellent!" Iroh said happily as he leaned forward and gathered up all the loot he had won. The other men did not so happy with their faces laced with regretful pain. I chuckled slightly at the sight "I take the pot. But, you're all improving. I'm certain you will win if we play again."

"I can't believe they bet against you in the first place," I said to Iroh as I shook my head in disbelief, "Can I play the next game?" So, started another game in the day of Pai Sho games.

.

I sat in the medical bay with Iroh changing my bandages. My face only felt tender now and wasn't much bother. The bandage came off swiftly, without any trouble, and Iroh threw the remnants into the waste bin. He sat back in a relaxed position and observed the burn. "Wow!" Iroh exclaimed as he rubbed his chin, "That is healing up really nicely. Too nicely. It looks as if it's been healing for at least two weeks."

I furrowed my eyebrows at his statement, "But it's only been three days. Well, slightly over three days if you count the evening it happened, but still."

"Exactly," Iroh contemplated, "How strange." Iroh face held a frown and he stared at the burn.

I felt awkward with his eyes staring contemplatively at my cheek. "Well, you know what they say: don't look a gift horse in the mouth!" I chattered uneasily, afraid that Iroh was going to tell I was an alien or something ridiculous.

Iroh chuckled for his chest and smile, "I suppose you're right. Would you like to see how it's healing?" Iroh asked. He asked just about every time my bandages were done, but I always said no. Therefore, I hadn't actually seen the burn since the morning three days ago. Truthfully, I was scared to see it. If I didn't see it, it was easier just to pretend that it wasn't there.

This time, I changed my mind, "Sure." Iroh picked up the hand mirror and handed over to me. I bit my lip as I raise the mirror. The sight wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I thought that I would look like a deformed and mangled person, but I wasn't. Iroh wasn't lying when he said that it was healing up nicely. The hideous burn that I had seen a few days ago had been replaced by red handprint. The burn looked slight raw and irritated, but nothing compared to what it had been. It didn't look too bad. I lowered the mirror and looked over at Iroh, "So, are you gonna bandage me back up?"

"No, it doesn't need to be anymore," Iroh confirmed while he took the mirror and put it away.

I hummed uneasily at the words. The crew knew that I had injured, but they didn't know exactly how. With the wound uncovered, they would easily be able to tell what had happened. I didn't argue though, "So, does this mean that I can start training again?" Iroh nodded and we continued on with our day. Our next destination was the deck for a lovely afternoon tea.

On our way, we were stopped by Lieutenant Jee. The man strode up to us with a firm resolution, "General Iroh, just the man I was looking for. Prince Zuko has not given us an order for an hour, what do you want us to do?"

Iroh pondered over the news given to him for a second before he responded, "I will go check on my nephew." Iroh cast a glance over to me, knowing that I probably wouldn't want to go see Zuko.

I sighed and rolled my eyes in annoyance, "It's fine." My exclamation, however, attracted the Lieutenant's attention that had stayed off of me.

"Oh, spirits!" He shouted in surprise as he saw my face. "That's what happened to your face."

I scowled deeply at his reaction, even though it was the reaction I was planning to get. I gritted my teeth and grumpily spoke, "Yes, just ignore it. Let's go." I took off in large strides leading us forward. Iroh hurried to catch up with me and it wasn't long before we stepped out onto the deck. Outside, the sun was hidden behind the clouds and a slight darkness was cast over the area. Zuko was furiously practicing his firebending, sending wild balls of fire in every which direction.

He heard us come out the door and stopped. Iroh calmly walked closer to his nephew before he spoke, "Is everything okay? It's been almost an hour and you haven't given the men an order." Zuko gave a glance over his shoulder as his uncle spoke. He looked apathetic and downtrodden.

"I don't care what they do," Zuko muttered without hope. He turned his head and solemnly looked out over the sea.

"Don't give up hope yet," Iroh tried to inspire hope into his nephew. "You can still find the Avatar before Zhao."

Zuko snapped back at his uncle's words. His face momentarily leaked the fear and worry that he held inside. "How, Uncle? With Zhao's resources, it's just a matter of time before he captures the Avatar." He turned back around, once again staring off into the distance. I couldn't help but feel bad for him. I knew that I shouldn't, that after what he did to me he didn't deserve my empathy, but even still, I wanted to help Zuko. "My honor, my throne, my country, I'm about to lose them all," Zuko whispered in desperation out to the sea.

I sighed lightly and gathered my courage. "But you have one thing he doesn't," I projected to him in a strong voice. He turned around with his eyes wide. I hadn't spoken to Zuko since the night of the dinner, "Determination." I held his eyes firmly for only a moment before I broke the contact and head to the door, leaving him behind to ponder what I just said.

.

Tonight was the first music night that we had while I was on the ship. Let me tell you, I was excited. Between learning to read this world's language and learning to be a bad ass fighter, I had managed to find time to practice the flute Iroh had bought at the market. I wasn't good, but I wasn't bad considering I was going off of years old knowledge and I had only ever been at a beginner level.

So, we sat around the fire with the stars shining above us in a brilliant array. There was laughter everywhere and not a single person's hand was free from alcohol, not even mine. I had been conflicted about, but I figured when it Rome. Not that I planned on getting drunk, but nothing wrong with a cup to warm the spirits. A few songs had been played, but I had only listened. Sometimes, the crew members would give a strange look and I knew that they were looking at the clearly marked handprint. I wondered if they Zuko was the one who had given it to me. "Rachelle," Iroh turned to me with a jolly expression, "Would you be willing to grace us with your flute playing abilities?"

Hesitation rose in my chest at the thought of play, especially in front of so many crew members. My mouth hung opened in panic before I gathered my words, "Uh, I don't know. I'm not really that good."

"It doesn't matter how good you are. What matters is the amount of spirit you play with?" Iroh grabbed the flute and held it out in front of me to take. I looked down skeptically at the instrument. I saw Iroh smiling brightly and I gave in.

I sighed and took the instrument, "Fine. But I'm not promising that it'll be good." I raised the flute up to my lips and positioned my hands. I made the small hole in my mouth and blew air over the opening. I got off to a rocky start; I always had a hard time positioning my mouth so that way it played. However, soon I got the hang of it. The melodies I played were nothing fancy, just simple notes strung together in a pleasing manner. It was all improvised, so there wasn't really a direction with the song. A few too many times I played a rotten note or got my fingers all messed up, but it wasn't a bad performance. After a decent about of playing, I lowered the instrument with my head feeling light due to the breathing, the reason I had quit the instrument in the first place. I looked up and smiled as I finished. The crew moderately applauded my performance, so they must have thought that it was at least tolerable.

"See," Iroh said happily, "That wasn't bad at all."

I smile lightly and rolled my eyes, "Yeah, I suppose not. Still, it's not really where my talent lies."

"Oh, really," Iroh raised his eyebrows intrigued, "And where do they lay."

"Hm?" I thought for a moment, "Probably in singing."

Iroh lit up with enthusiasm and I knew that I shouldn't have said anything, "Oh, you must sing us a song!" I reservedly shook my head and opened my mouth to decline. I loved singing, and I wanted to perform in front of others, but I was too shy and I wasn't prepared. Before I could even decline, Iroh cut me off, "What do you guys think? Would you love for Miss. Rachelle to sing a song?" Iroh turned to the crew who sat around the fire. Sure enough, his plan work and the crew started cheering boisterously 'Sing! Sing!'

I pursed my lips and gave Iroh a half lidded glare. "Very well," I spoke only mildly displeased with the situation. If I was going to sing, I wasn't just going to sing, I would perform. I stood up and got ready to perform, then I realized a small problem: I didn't know what to sing. I didn't have a whole catalog of music memorized in my head. I did have some music memorized in my head: songs from musicals I had been in. It would have to do. My first thought was _Just You Wait_ from _My Fair Lady_. I could just imagine filling in the words 'enry 'iggins with Prince Zuko, but maybe that wasn't the most appropriate song to sing. Instead, I decided on _Wouldn't It Be Lovely._ "Ok," I cleared my throat, "How does it start again? …Oh, yes!" And I started. I moved around in a manner of what I remember from the film and my own school musical. I hadn't been Eliza Doolittle, nope. I should have been. I had a knack for accents, but I wasn't it in choir and choir kids always got chose first, even if their acting abilities sucked. Anyway, I twirled around the crew and the fire, singing to my heart's content. I would be lying if I said I wasn't having the time of my life. I loved it so much. The song ended all too soon and I bowed. There was a loud smattering of applause and even a few hoots and hollers. I smiled brightly and sat back down.

"You were definitely correct in saying that your talent laid in singing," Iroh praised cheerfully.

I sighed dreamily, "Yeah, it's a lot of fun." Iroh and I watched as a few crew members started to perform a song together. I swayed along with the music, feeling a little tipsy and light. "Hey Iroh," I called softly getting Iroh's attention. "Do you think things between Zuko and I will ever get better? Or do you think that we'll just be silently enemies forever?"

"I think that's up to the two of you," Iroh advised. I could feel his eyes on me, but I didn't turn my head to look. "If you wish to remedy things between each other, then I'm sure that your relationship will improve. But both of you have to be willing to work."

I hummed at the answer, letting it sink in. "That's what I'm afraid the problem is," I muttered under my breath. Silence fell between us as I thought over the words and the whole situation. "I really hope that we can, Iroh. I really do." I was put into a solemn mood for a while as I watched people perform, but with some laughs and cheers, my mood perked back up.

The evening ended with Lieutenant Jee serenading us a love song. He was surprisingly good. While he sung, he went around and interacted with the few ladies on the ship, including me. He took my hand and raised it to his chest while staring comically deep into my eyes. I couldn't help the cheery laughter that rose from my chest and the smile that took over my face. A rosy blush took over my face, a combination of the alcohol and the words that were being sung to me.

It was a wonderful evening.

.

It was late in the morning. Iroh sat playing the tsungi horn and I listened to the calming music while I did basic drills. It had been a peaceful morning, with not much happening, Zuko hadn't even been seen. Probably off rescuing Aang.

I stood up and watched as Zuko sullenly walked across the deck, finally arriving from his adventure as the Blue Spirit. Iroh also stopped what he was doing as he saw his nephew. "Where have you been, Prince Zuko? You missed music night! Lieutenant Jee sang a stirring love song and Rachelle gave a magnificent performance," Iroh called out to Zuko. I glanced over with slight panic to Iroh as he mentioned me. For some reason, I just didn't quite want Zuko to know.

Zuko walked right passed his uncle, not even sparing him the time of day. It looked as if he wasn't going to even acknowledge the two of us standing on the deck. Then he stopped and glanced over his shoulder. He didn't look at his uncle, instead, he looked at me. I gulped as I felt his eyes on me, but I didn't shy away. Zuko seemed to be pondering something away in his head. I was mildly confused and intrigued by his action. His eyes finally rested on the remnants of the burn. It was mostly just a discolored mark and held no pain only a tight feeling. Zuko's frown deepen as he looked. He turned around and started walking to the inside, but before he completely disappeared, he called back over his shoulder, "I'm going to bed. No disturbances." I stared at where Zuko had gone in a dazed confusion, wondering what his roaming eyes were about, as Iroh started to play again.

* * *

So, a little knowledge about the songs that were mentioned. Both were from _My Fair Lady_, based on of the play Pygmalion. It's basically about this rich phoneticist, Henry Higgins, who takes this poor flower girl with a thick cockney accent, Eliza Doolittle, and turns her into a 'duchess'. Higgin is really mean to Eliza. So, _Just You Wait _is a song about Eliza imagining the future where the roles have been reversed and she has power over Higgins, taking her revenge. I felt that this related very close to the story.

Anyway, I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm super excited for the next chapter, so hopefully I'll see all of you there. Thanks for all the follows, favorites, and reviews. They keep me motivate to write. Please leave a review with any suggestions or comments that you may have! Thanks for reading and see you on the next chapter.


	14. The Fortuneteller

I couldn't sleep. I tossed and I turned in hopes that the sandman would pay me a visit. It didn't seem to be happening. All I could do was stare up at the ceiling with my chaotic and overwhelming thoughts. This had become an all too common occurrence in my life, at least since the day of the storm. My mind was filled with worry and confusion. Tonight I seemed to be plagued by the abnormally fast healing face dilemma. The burn, or any marks of the burn, were completely gone. I couldn't explain it. Neither could Iroh. It was a new occurrence for me; I hadn't healed super quickly back in my world. Maybe it had something to do with me being here. At least it seemed I wouldn't live the rest of my life with Zuko's handprint on my face. While that was my most forefront thought, it wasn't the only thought that I held tonight. I couldn't seem to stop thinking about how Zuko had looked at me today when he had gotten back. It was…unusual, to say the least. Our eyes never fell upon each other anymore, and even when they did, there was anger and panic behind them then a quick glance away. However, this morning, by now probably yesterday morning, it was different. There was no anger and it wasn't a quick accidental glance. He glanced purposefully and with what I wanted to say was regret. It was as if he had something to say, but he didn't quite know what to say. I wanted, I felt like I needed, to know what he was thinking. What would he have said? Maybe it was a sign he wanted to fix things between us.

I felt like I was going mad, sitting here and staring up at the barely visible ceiling, so I got up. I picked up my cloak, as I knew at this time of night it would be chilly up top. It was a silky cloak that was made out of red velvet. It had a hood and a golden clasp as well. I loved it, although I hadn't had much of a chance to use it. I swooshed the cloak over my shoulders and buckled the clasp. My cell door opened with a groan and I made my way through the dark hallways. When I made it up the stairs and out on to the main desk, I took a breath of fresh air. It had seemed so claustrophobic underdeck. It was good to be free of the metal walls. I walked over the railing and leaned against it. The night was beautiful. There was a slight breeze that ruffled my hair and cloak. The air was filled with the refreshing scent of sea water. There was not a cloud in the sky, only a sliver of the moon, and no lights around for miles on end. This allowed for the most beautiful view of the sky. It seemed as if every star in the galaxy could be seen. It was breathtaking. It was so peaceful and perfect, it seemed as if I could just melt away.

The peace was broken by footsteps. I wondered who could possibly be up so late. I knew a few crew members stayed up during the night, taking care of the ship and such, but they would all be at their post inside the ship. So who could it be? My face was full of confusion as I turned to see who had come up from below ship. My mouth dropped in shock at who I saw. There, at the opening, was Zuko. There he stood, looking like a kid that got caught with his hand in a cookie jar as he saw that he wasn't the only one wondering around. He wore a comfy robe, a more casual attire than I had ever seen him in; he clearly didn't think that he'd be running into anybody. I furrowed my eyes in deep confusion. At the dead of night, he was the last person I'd thought I'd run into. His eyes contained panic as I stared at him. I moved my lips together as I started to form the word 'what'. Before I had gotten anything out, I thought second of questioning why Zuko was out here. I shook my head in bewilderment and put my hands up in a submissive position, "Nope. No. Not even gonna ask." I resigned my confusion and just accepted that this was happening. I lowered my hands and casually gazed over at Zuko.

My eyebrows lifted in shock as I heard a chuckle come from Zuko. His head was slightly shifted down and to the side with a half grin on his face. My breathing slowed at the sight and was left quite befuddled; I smiled gently. Zuko raised his head to look back at me. We both curiously gazed each other as if we expected the contented mood to vanish.

Zuko suddenly widened his eyes as he discovered something unbeknown to me. Zuko took quick strides and in seconds he stood directly in front of me. My heart stopped beating as Zuko raised his hand and rested it on my cheek. My eyes were wide and I wasn't quite sure I remembered how to breathe. Zuko face was only inches away from mine, and while he wasn't close enough for me to feel his breath, he still seemed much too close. His hand felt warm and slightly coarse on my cheek. He also touched my skin with a gentleness that I was surprised at. "Your face!" Zuko loudly whispered in a disbelieving tone. His thumb ran over the skin and his eyes peered deeply as he looked for the damage he had done. My heart beat started to go back to normal as I realized why Zuko had rushed over to touch my face. As this realization seemed to dawn on me, the realization that he was touching my face and the inappropriateness of that dawned on Zuko. He went through the same shock that I had just been through and quickly withdrew his hand.

I was still flustered but I tried to carry on like nothing was unusual. I raised my hand to my cheek, my fingertips touching where Zuko's hand had been moments before, and my mind drifted back to thoughts of the mysterious healing. "It's gone. All healed up. Not even a lick of a scar," I switched my tone from serious to joking as I continued on, "And here I thought I was going to have to get a tattoo of your hand."

I watched Zuko's face morph in confusion, "I don't see the correlation."

I laughed fully as I realized how weird that sounded without my train of thought, "Well, I knew that there was a good chance that the burn was going to scar. So, I was going to get a tattoo over it to make it look cool. I was thinking maybe some flowers or geometric designs. Something that could've made me look like a badass. But at last, no scar to cover." Silence fell between us as I finished. We shifted awkwardly on our feet, neither of us quite sure what to do. I rubbed my hands over my arms as I thought of something to say. Nothing came to my mind, though.

I turned back around and resumed my position against the railing. I didn't take my eyes off the blue ocean as I felt Zuko slide up next to me. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" I serenely spoke to Zuko, "The Ocean?"

I looked at Zuko out of the corner of my eye as he seemed to focus his attention on the ocean. "I guess," Zuko nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, "It's just the ocean."

"Just the ocean," I scoffed in a semi-jokingly voice, "It's not just an ocean." I started to explain to Zuko, "I mean, look at it. It spreads off for hundreds of miles in every direction, completely encompassing our ship. Then, the water goes down for thousands of miles. And who knows what lurks underneath them? Fishes and sea creatures of all kinds. Fish that light up in the dark and fishes that are four times as big as this ship! And just think about how all this water is connected, all the way from the South Pole to the North. It's amazing! Looking out at the ocean at night, you might think it's a black abyss, but it's not. It's actually a really dark blue, like the sky. Then look at how the moon pulls at the waves, creating silky folds of water that gently rock the boat. And look at how the ocean reflects the light of the sky, mirroring the moon and the stars. So, you can look out at the ocean and say 'Oh, it's just the ocean, black and void.' But it's not. It's not just the ocean. It's so much more." I spoke with passion and excitement as I thought about just how beautiful the world really was. I let my words carry me away as I peacefully stared at the furling waves. I finished up and realized I had spoken much more, and with much more passion, then what I had intended.

I glanced down shyly as I saw Zuko staring at me in astonishment. I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear in a nervous gesture. I looked back over at him and he looked away. Zuko looked out at the ocean as if he was seeing it for the first time. "Huh," Zuko simply replied.

It was such a simple response, and something that I wasn't expecting, that I couldn't help the giggles that escaped my mouth. I could just imagine Zuko being one of those people who always responded to texts with a one or two-word answer, effective killing the conversation. I had no idea how I was supposed to respond to that, which meant that we would probably fall back into an awkward silence. How in the world did we always find ourselves here? I threw my head back in laughter of the situation. Zuko looked over at me with a judgmental glance as if I was a crazy person. I amusedly grinned over at him, "You are quite the conversationalist, you know?"

Zuko pondered at me before he looked out at the ocean. "I know. I've always just been a people person," Zuko stated matter-of-factly as he shrugged his shoulders.

I burst out into a soulful laughter at his comment, knowing just how untrue that statement was. "Right. Right," I laughed fully and smiled brightly, "Well, it is very obvious." I agreed with what Zuko was saying in an overly genuine manner. Zuko let out a few light chuckles and I chuckled some more as well. We peacefully stared out at the sea, boat rocking gently, without either one of us saying anything. The mood wasn't awkward or tense, it was just nice. I craned my head up to look up at the stars. They were just gorgeous. They almost didn't even seem real, as if they were just photoshopped in, but here they were. I wished I knew more about constellations then I could tell if we were still in the same galactic position. I wondered if this was Earth, just in a parallel world, or if it was a different planet entirely. Were we even in the milky way? Unfortunately, I couldn't tell. I didn't know if the sun that rose over my head every day was the same sun that I had looked at for fifteen years before. It could be a completely different star and a completely different moon that filled the sky. Heck, we could be on the opposite side of the universe for all I know; billions upon billions of light years away from Earth. It just seemed impossible.

Craning my neck up at the sky was really doing a number on my muscles. I lowered my head into a normal position before I started massaging my neck. Not wanting to give up my view of the stars, but also not wanting to keep my neck craned up at the night sky, I lowered myself down at to the floor. I laid on my back, hand across my stomach and continued to search the galaxy. I flickered my eyes down to Zuko. He had turned around from the edge and peered down interested in my actions. I only glanced at him for a second before I turned my gaze back to the sky. "I'm looking at the stars," I answered Zuko's unspoken question.

He paused before he responded, "First the ocean, then the stars. Next, you'll be staring at the metal floor." He spoke as if he was judging my actions, which maybe he was, but he still didn't leave. I watched out of the corner of my eye as Zuko followed my action and laid down. He laid only little more than a foot away from me on my right.

I turned my head to look at him. There was a slight glint in his eyes of the light from the sky as he stared up into the expansive abyss. "You can always leave if you want to," I suggested to him.

Zuko sighed disgruntled before muttering out, "I know." I rolled my eyes at him; what a challenge it was to stay within the same area as me.

I turned my attention away from Zuko. I put my hands behind my head, let out a deep breath of relaxation, and took in the universe. After a few minutes of stillness, I momentarily glanced over at Zuko. "Do you know any constellations?" I quietly asked Zuko out of curiosity.

Zuko looked over at me with a blank face. There was a pause of silence while he thought. He looked away and muttered out, "Perhaps." I gave him a mock glare as if to say 'really?' Zuko saw that I wanted more than just a perhaps and sighed. He rolled his eyes and cleared his throat, "I know a few." Did he seriously think that I was just going to let him get away with that? I moved my arm over to Zuko and nudged him a few times. He looked over at me with an annoyed expression. I bit my lip and gave him my best puppy dog eyes, hoping that they would get him to tell me about a constellation. "Ugh, fine," Zuko sighed, giving into me. I smiled deviously. My eyes flickered from Zuko to the sky as he scanned the stars for the constellation. "There," Zuko pointed up at the sky, propped up by one elbow. "That's the constellation of Longwei the Dragon."

I scanned the sky with vigor where Zuko was pointing, looking for anything that I felt like could have resembled a dragon. Nothing did look like a dragon, though. "Where?" I question with my eyes narrowed in search, "I don't see it."

Zuko let out a deep sigh of frustration at me not being about to see it. "Right there," Zuko pointed in the same direction he had been. I certainly wasn't going to find it if these were the instruction I was going to get from Zuko. "There's a cluster of, uh, five stars, then to the right of that is a star. That's the tip of the dragon's tail. Then you can follow the rest of the stars at a 45* angle and that's the constellation." Zuko moved his hand in slight movement as he spoke of where the constellation should be.

My eyes scanned over the stars with precision and focus. I tried to find the group of stars he had mentioned, but there were like 20 groups of stars in that direction. How was I supposed to know which one it was? To me, there was no constellation to be seen. "I still don't see it," I said in an incredulous tone.

"It's right there," Zuko started to explain some more. He seemed just about as annoyed as I was that I couldn't find the stupid thing. Then Zuko slid up next to me. Our shoulders brushed together as we propped ourselves up. I felt myself tense up at his presence, but I didn't mention it. He had his right arm up pointing up at the sky where the constellation apparently was. I slid myself over so I see down Zuko's arm as if it had been mine. I practically had Zuko wrapped around me. I just tried to focus on the sky and not his abnormal high body heat. "See, there's the tail then you can follow it up the body," Zuko's finger traced up the stars, "to the wings that go out on both side, and continue up to the head." I felt myself put the stars together as if they were puzzle pieces and I finally saw the dragon, Longwei.

"Oh, I see it! Wow," I exclaimed in excitement. I turned my eyes away from the sky and back down to Zuko. I then realized this was a mistake. His face was right there, only maybe three inches away. I locked eyes with him. His eyes seemed so vivid, even during the night with poor lighting. Recognizing the precarious situation we were in, both of us went in the opposite direction of each other. We were now a good foot apart and I felt like I could finally breathe again. "So," I hesitantly spoke while I traced the dragon in my mind, "What's the story behind it?"

Zuko gave me a side glance and didn't answer for a moment. It seemed he was debating whether or not he was going answer my question. "Hm," Zuko hummed as he began to tell the legend of Longwei, "If I remember correctly, it's about a man who became the dragon of greatness." I rolled over to my side, my head propped up on my hand, and observed Zuko as he spoke. "Longwei was born to a poor family in the Fire Nation. As Longwei grew, he realized he needed to help his family, which was large and sickly. He did everything he could: he helped farm many hours for bountiful crops, he worked for the town's fisherman, and even begged. But it still wasn't enough for his poor and sickly family.

"So, Longwei joined the army. Even then, the wages of a regular soldier weren't enough. If he could get promoted to a higher rank, then he could finally be able to take care of all his family's needs. The only problem was that every higher ranking officer had to be a firebender. Longwei always felt that he would have so much more easily been able to take care of his family if only he had been a firebender. So, Longwei started out on a journey to become a firebender. He traveled everywhere in the waking world to find some way of becoming a firebender. He traveled to the Earth Kingdom, to the Water Tribes, and to the Air Temples. No matter where he went, though, Longwei did not find anything. Then, Longwei came to his final option: he would travel to the spirit world. He spent many days in the spirit world and talked to many spirits, but he was still empty handed. Just when Longwei thought that he had no hope, he ran into a dragon. The dragon told Longwei that it could give him the power to bend fire and help his family, but it would come at a cost, he would have to leave his life as he knew it behind. Longwei agreed.

"As soon as he agreed, Longwei transformed into a dragon. He lashed out in rage and screamed that this is not what he asked for. The cunning dragon grinned. 'This is exactly what you asked for.' The cunning dragon said, 'You now have the power to bend fire, it is a part deep within you. For your family, a dragon is a rich resource for anybody who can get their hands on one. Sacrifice your life for your family and they shall never know poverty again.' Longwei saw that he had been tricked into making a deal that he didn't want. Still, Longwei had vowed to provide a happy life for his family. So, he sacrificed himself and his family grew rich from the spoils of having killed a dragon. It is said that when Longwei died, his spirit flew off to live among the stars so he could always keep a watch on his family."

I rolled over onto my back and looked up at the constellation. It was saddening, how Longwei had to sacrifice everything for his family. Legends always seemed to be sorrowful; was there such thing as a happy legend? "That's quite the legend," I sighed with the words of the story still running through my mind.

"Your turn," Zuko urged suddenly, taking me by surprise.

"Huh?" The remark left my mouth without permission as my eyebrows rose in flustered shock. My turn? Did he really want me to tell a story?

"Your turn to tell a story." Zuko leaned back in a relaxed position, placing his hands beneath his head and looking up at the sky. "I put a lot of work in to make that a fantastic story, so I expect the same, peasant," He spurred me on. Emphasis was placed on the word peasant, but it wasn't rude or meanly said. No, it was a tease, he was playfully pushing me. If that's the game he wanted to play, then fine.

"Ok, your royal highness," I replied in very much the same teasing tone that Zuko had used on me. "Let's see," I searched the crevices of my mind for a story to tell. It felt a lot like how when someone asks you what your favorite movie is and then you forget every single movie you've ever seen. I felt as if I had never even heard a story before. Finally, I remember a little story I had seen on the internet. I didn't really remember the entire story, all I remembered really was the opening line, but I could just come up with the rest. Right? "Ah! I'll tell you the story about how the Sun loved the Moon so much he died every night to let her breathe." I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. I felt surprisingly nervous. "The Sun burned with rage and passion, his fire never dying of determination. He shined so bright and filled the whole world with his light. Then there was the Moon. She was calm and magnetic and was nothing compared to the Sun. Her glow was small and unnoticeable; she faded into the background to not be seen, but all she ever wanted was for people notice her shine.

"One day, the Sun caught a glimpse of the Moon. He stared in awe of her beauty and sway; she brought him to peace. The Sun and the Moon met in an entanglement of beauty. They swirled around in the sky, encircling each other in the dance of love. The Moon saw that the Sun wasn't just rage and destruction; he was life and warmth. The Sun saw that the Moon wasn't just a calm, dim light; she was the light in the darkness.

"The Moon told the Sun how she wished more than anything that people would notice her glow. The Sun frowned as he stared down at the face of his love. He realized that if he stayed by her side, no one would ever see her glow, they'd only see him. So, as much as it broke his heart, the Sun left the Moon in the darkness. Now the Moon shines as a beacon of light for everyone in the darkness. The Moon realized what the Sun had done, but as much as she loved to shine, she would have stayed in hidden forever if it meant the Sun was by her side. So, the Sun ran away from the Moon and the Moon chased after the Sun. They are but two ships passing in the night who never find the one they love."

I finished my story and looked over at Zuko. He gave me a confused glanced as if he didn't think the story was over. His eyes widened as it dawned on him that was the end of the story. "What? No!" Zuko shouted in a distressed, unbelieving tone. He shot up into a sitting position and made a wild hand gesture, "The story can't end like that." He said it in such a matter-of-fact way that it seemed he knew how the story ended better than me.

"Why not?" I chuckled in amusement. I joined Zuko in a sitting position with my hands in my lap. It was funny to see Zuko get so work up about this. I didn't think that he'd care that much.

"Because…" Zuko stumbled over his words due to the level of upset he was experiencing at the situation, "because she loved him, yet he ran away." He flung another gesture of his arm as he spoke. To him, it seemed as if what had just happened was impossible.

I just calmly shrugged my shoulder and explained the motivation behind the Sun's actions, "Because he loved her enough to know that he couldn't take away what she loved."

"Well, maybe she loved him more than shining in the darkness," Zuko pouted in frustration.

"Maybe," I agreed, calmly nodding my head, "But the Sun assumed that he knew what she loved more than her. And I guess that's what it shows, that you shouldn't assume that you know what someone else wants more than them."

My statement seemed to stop Zuko in his tracks. He lost the irritation at the story and deflated. He seemed to be turning something over in his head, what I didn't know. I looked at him with questioning curiosity. He came to a conclusion about whatever he was thinking about and looked up at me, "Rachelle."

My face lit up in brightness and a huge smile appeared on my face. I didn't let him get out any other words before I spoke. "You called me by my name!" I breathed in happy disbelief, "I don't think you've ever called me by my name."

"Oh, um," Zuko stumbled and became flustered at the recognition, "I guess I hadn't, but that's not the point," Zuko said firmly, going back to what he had been starting to say. "The point is…I'm sorry. I'm sorry for slapping you and burning you. I didn't mean to! I swear I didn't. I just lost control of my emotions—" Zuko's words sped up as he talked and he started to ramble aimlessly in nervousness.

"It's ok, Zuko," I cut off his rambling with soft words. "I understand and I forgive you." How could I not, looking at his worried and panicked face of regret. "Besides," I sighed and laid back down, "It's not exactly as if I'm completely innocent. I said some pretty horrible things." I started to go over the things that I had said. It had all happened so fast that really I couldn't remember everything I said. I do remember the honor part, though. Wow. That was really terrible. How could I have said that! "Really horrible actually. Gosh! I was so mean. No wonder you slapped me…So, I'm sorry too," I softly apologized to him. He looked very taken aback by what I was saying and, I wanted to say, grateful. "About the things I said. I want you to know that I didn't mean them. I just wanted to hurt you. You're not honorless, in fact, I think you have quite a deal of honor in you." I smiled at him timidly and a little bit embarrassed by what I had said.

Zuko looked at me with concealed shock. His lips were parted slightly and he looked as if he wasn't quite sure I had said what I had said. "Hmph," Zuko breathed out stoutly and he flopped down forcefully onto the floor. I peered in wonder of his actions as he laid there looking up at the stars. Just when I had given up on expecting anything more, I heard Zuko whisper in the dark, "…thanks." I couldn't be sure, because of the darkness, but through the moonlight, I thought I could make out the faintest blush on his cheeks. I smiled lightly at him and turned to watch the stars.

"I remember when I was little," I reminisced out loud through the night, "My friend and I, we would build a tent in her backyard. We would play in it all day, make believe and pretend stuff. Lots of times we would have picnics in there for lunch and dinner. We would stay out playing till it was super late at night. Lots of times we would go star gazing once it got dark. I remember one night," I chuckled as I remember that crazy night, "When it was windy, my friend saw something move. She swore up and down that it was a wild cat, but it was most definitely just a bush. I knew that it was probably nothing, but her fear wore off onto me and I grew paranoid that there was something actually out there. We fed off each other's fear and we clutched each other in the tent, hiding. We both knew that we needed to go back inside, but that meant leaving the safety of the tent and going past the 'cat'. We hurried and panicked to pick up the tent. We kind of just folded the tent over into a bundled and carried it in. When we got inside we realized we still had the leftover food and drinks inside the tent. Oh my gosh," I rolled my head in laughter, "It was such a mess. There was food and juice everywhere! It took forever to get everything clean…I guess you could say it was an in-tents situation." I slowed down and put emphasis on the pun. Zuko, who had been attentively listening to my story, groan loudly at the joke. I laughed at his reaction, knowing that the pun had been pure genius. I breathed calmly and didn't quite have anything else to say. "So, did you ever go staring gaze with your friends or family?" I turned the conversation to Zuko.

"No," Zuko replied shortly.

My eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Really?" I don't know why it surprised me so much. It wasn't that uncommon to not go star gazing. More unfortunately, Zuko's word hardly gave rise to the continuation of the conversation. "So, what was your favorite activity to do with your friends?" I asked trying to lead the conversation away from the stars. Plus, I was interested to know about Zuko's life.

Zuko seemed to ponder a moment over the question, not quite sure what his answer was going to be. I watched him expectantly as he narrowed his eyes in thought. "I don't know," He shrugged, "I didn't really hang out with anyone very often."

"Oh," I mumbled out as my face fell. That was… that was so sad. Poor Zuko, the lonely prince.

Zuko must have been able to tell I was pitying him because he immediately cut in to interrupt my thoughts, "It's not like couldn't have if I wanted to. There just weren't many people around the area we lived who were close to my age. They were all either too young or too old."

Ah. You had to wonder how many people Zuko would have been able to meet being royalty. Not too many from the sounds of it. At least Zuko wasn't friendless because he was a loner or a loser, just that there was no one to really hang out with. That's a comforting thought…I think? "So, you just didn't hang out with anyone?" I questioned, wondering if really he could have gone all those years without one friend or, at least, hanging out with a person a few times. I rolled over to my side so I could see him as we spoke.

"Well," Zuko breathed as he rolled onto his side as well, "I did hang out with a couple people. We'd play soldiers, but something always happened and things just ended up in a mess." There was something in Zuko's voice that made it sound as something terribly wrong had happened, or maybe it was just because he shivered in horror at the remembrance. "Besides that, my sister usually had her friends over and sometimes my mom forced me to hang out with them." He said the statement as if it was the end of the world.

"True torture," I retorted sarcastically at the irony of how bad he thought the situation was and how bad it was to hang out with a group of girls.

"It was, ok," Zuko justified his negative emotions with a firm statement. "They forced me to play their stupid games. They were horrible and usually ended with me getting in trouble for their antics."

I raised my eyebrows as if it was simply unbelievable, "Oh really?"

"Yes," Zuko insisted resolutely, trying to get me to understand just how bad it had been. "One time they dragged me into sneaking into the royal document room, a room where only the Fire Lord is allowed to go in. I was against it from the start, but Azula insisted that to get information on a special firebending technique, we needed to go in there." Zuko recounted the story with such a dramatic tone that it made me smile in amusement. "We got to the entrance and Azula pushed me into the room. She told me to find the book while they stood guard. I searched and searched for the book she spoke of but I couldn't it find it anywhere. I went to go tell Azula that I couldn't find it anywhere, but I didn't find her at the door. No. I saw that Azula had left with her friends and I was left to find the guard. I was punished for two months because she thought it'd be funny to see me search for a nonexistent object." Zuko sighed loudly at the frustration of the situation before he flopped down to the deck in a peeved off manner.

I was kind of peeved off too. Azula has always just been so mean. "That's ridiculous," I exclaimed at how his sister had acted.

"I know! It is ridiculous," He agreed boisterously with me. "That's not even the worst. There was the powder incident." He turned back over to me and spoke with true horror.

"Ooh, I'm intrigued," I snuggled down into my hand as I got ready for the story, "Do tell."

"I was pretty young. I must've been about 8, which would have made Azula 5. Azula had been telling me about how she wanted to wear the stuff that she had seen mom and the other ladies wear. Being the great big brother I was."

"Of course," I nodded in agreement to the satire.

"I told her that I'd help her acquire some so she could wear it. I figured the easiest place to find them would be in my mother's room. So, we waited until both of our parents were elsewhere and we snuck into the room. It wasn't hard to find my mom's vanity where she stored her makeup. I opened the drawer and took out the products for my sister to see. She looked at the supplies with wide-eyes and grinned. She looked up at me innocently and said, 'Thank you, big brother, but I need to test them on someone before I use it on myself." Zuko switched his voice to a squeaky, high pitch tone to mimic his sister. I chuckled at the impression. "I should've known that something was up, but I agreed to anyway. She picked up a tub of white powder and—"

I realized where the story was headed and I sat up in horror. "Oh no. Tell me you didn't," I shouted at him in disbelief and excitement.

"I did! I just let her dump the whole thing on my head," Zuko groaned in shameful remembrance. "I was covered in white from my head to my toes. I stomped through the house to my mom, effectively creating a trail of white footprints through the house. It took forever for the maids to clean it up and even then, I'd see specs of white on the floor."

I imagined little child Zuko, covered in white powered, stomping to the gilded halls of his house in anger. I couldn't help the laughs that burst joyfully from me at the picture. "Oh, that's so bad," I croaked, breathless from the laughs, "I can't believe you fell for that."

"Yeah, well," Zuko slouched, a bit embarrassed and tried casually make it seem as if it wasn't that bad, "That was when I learned that my sister couldn't be trusted."

I thought of Azula and how crazy she was. I truly did think that she was a psychopath and, all I knew, was that girl seriously needed some mental help. I wasn't going to say that to Zuko though. "Your sister, uh, she seems to be an interesting character."

Zuko scoffed, "To say the least."

My grinned grew as I thought back to the situation. I shook my head in amused incredulity, "I still can't believe you just let her do it." I paused for a moment, my face beginning to get sore from smiling so long. "Ok, ok, ok," I breathlessly chuckled as I tried to calm down. "On the topic of beauty, I was wondering, on a scale of one to ten, one being 'don't care at all' and ten being 'I'm going to murder you'," I made voices for each extreme and held up the numbers above my head. "How angry would you be if I snuck into your room in the middle of the night and chopped off your ponytail?"

Zuko looked over at me as if I was a mad woman before he exuberantly shouted, "A ten!"

"A ten?" I looked over at him in disbelief. "Don't you think that's a little high?"

He stared at me in incredulity as if he couldn't believe the words I had just said. "No! You're talking about secretly cutting off my hair," Zuko wailed over to me in incredulous panic.

"Yeah, but it's just hair," I shrugged in an easygoing manner. "And it would be much of an improvement." I tagged on the positive reasons as why this was ok.

"No, it wouldn't," Zuko defied my statement and shook his head.

I held his eyes and I shook my head yes, "Yes, it would."

"No. It wouldn't," Zuko argued more firmly.

"Yes. It would," I stuck to my answer just as resolute.

"No."

"Yes."

"No," Zuko said loudly.

"Yes," I said louder.

"NO," Zuko shouted.

"YESSS," I shouted even more boisterously into the night before I burst out laughing. I collapsed back into a relaxed position and sigh happily. "Ok, I promise not to secretly cut off your ponytail," I backed into a submissive position and agreed to not cut Zuko's hair, even though I wouldn't have in the first place.

I glanced over at Zuko, who stared up at the sky in frustrated disbelief, "Tsk, I can't even believe you."

I giggled lightly at his annoyance. I smiled and turned over his words. "If you had a leaf, you could say I don't beleaf you," I talked casually as I saw the pun he could have made. Zuko glanced over at me if I had lost my mind. "Sorry. Sorry," I chuckled, realizing how off topic that had been, "I just really like leaf humor. Like, like when King Bumi changed 'let us leave' to 'lettuce leaf'." I thought back to the memory and how I had always found that scene so funny. "It was so funny. But then we were imprisoned, which wasn't as funny." Zuko looked confused and concerned at my words. "Don't worry. Turns out Bumi was just a really old and crazy friend of Aang's." I didn't even know if that made sense to him, but really I was tired and I didn't care. I think it made sense, at least to me.

Zuko looked at me with muffled confusion before he just seemed to accept whatever I was saying. "I guess you could say that he's…ah…um…a fallen leaf?" Zuko tried to joke, but obviously got stuck in making it.

I stared at him with an open mouth in shock at how horrible of a joke that was, if it could even be considered a joke. I think, think being the operative word, that he was trying to relate 'fallen left' to 'lost his mind', but whoa nelly, it did not work. Then I burst out into laughter. I giggled and giggled and I giggled some more. How could I not? Zuko held this look of desperation his face that was just adorably cute. "That's so bad," I spluttered out between my laughs.

I had never laughed so much and so hard as I did laying out here with Zuko. How was this the same person who had only treated me with only anger and harshness? The same person who had slapped me across the face? How could the same person who did all those horrible things make me laugh in complete joyfulness? It just seemed impossible. We laughed and talked out the deck for the rest of the night. Sometime during the night, we both slipped off to sleep with smiles on our faces.

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Ha, ha, ha. This chapter caused me so many problems. Not because it was necessarily hard to write, I just procrastinated a lot. I didn't even start writing it until Wednesday. So, because of that, a lot of what was going to be in this one now has to be in the next chapter. And ugh! It's just a mess. But I will get it done.

So, the story of the Moon and Sun comes from the quote "Tell me the story about how the sun loved the moon so much he died every night to let her breathe." The origin of this quote is unknown. There are a few stories that people of created about it, but I didn't really like any of them and I didn't want to use someone else's content, so I just came up with my own to story to go with it.

All the same, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Do you think the characterization and everything is good? I hope so. It's the thing that always worries me the most. Thanks to everyone who's reading, to all the favs, follows, and reviews. I love reviews! They help me stay motivated to write so much, so please leave one if you have any comments, suggestions or questions. Thanks!


	15. Bato of the Water Tribe

Firstly, let me apologize. This is chapter is clearly unfinished and this was all I managed to write this week. I just could not bring myself to write this week. I'm starting college this upcoming week and moving almost 2,000 miles away from my hometown. I'm just getting really stressed and anxious about it, and when I get stressed I have a really hard time writing. So I apologize for the failure on my part. The full chapter should be up next Saturday or sooner, so check out this chapter again when it's complete. Once again, I deeply apologize.

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The sun falling on Zuko's face lulled him into consciousness. The warmth of the beam seemed to gently caress his face with a comforting familiarity like it was a part of him. He sat up, with the grogginess of the sleep quickly falling away, and felt the stiffness of his back. Zuko started to stretch out his back in an attempt to rid it of the problems caused by sleeping on the hard, metal floor. Zuko shook his head in disbelief; how had he let himself so carelessly fall asleep out on the deck? Looking down, his eyes fell upon Rachelle. Ah, yes, he remembered how he let himself fall asleep. She was still deeply asleep, with her mouth slightly open and her hair draped over her shoulder. It reminded him of when he rescued her and how she just laid peacefully on the ground. Zuko wondered if that was just her, always at peace. A slight morning breeze traveled through the air causing Rachelle's hair to blow over onto her face. Strangely enough, Zuko had the urge to brush it out of her face. He shook his head at himself. What was he thinking?

Zuko looked around nervously. The sun was only peeking out, but even still, most of the crew would be getting up around in no time at all. He didn't even want to think about having to deal with the crew seeing him laying out here with Rachelle. Ugh. He felt like he had just gained some of their respect. He didn't want them to see him out here with her. Zuko stood up in preparation to leave, but before he walked away he looked back down at the sleeping girl. Could he just leave her sleeping out here? …He mentally sighed. No, he couldn't. Zuko bent down and picked up the girl. It looked like he would have to take her back to her room. She was light in his arms and he had no problem in carrying her around the ship. Very luckily, he didn't run into anyone on the way down to her room. He struggled to open the door and hold Rachelle at the same time, but, awkwardly, he managed. Zuko opened up the door and frowned at the sight. He hadn't known that Rachelle's room was so…bland, and dreary. All her room contained was a desk, a chest, and a bed. There were not wall decorations and the whole room seemed to be overwhelming grey and confining. Zuko wearily stepped into the room and laid Rachelle lightly down on the old and dingy bed; he lifted up the blanket and tucked her in without thinking about his actions. He had no clue that she had been living in this. How had she even been sleeping on a bed like that?

Zuko shook his head and stepped back as he realized his thoughts. She was his prisoner, this was her cell, it's not supposed to be nice. Why did he care anyway? Maybe because she forgave and treat him nicely after all the horrible things that he had done. Maybe because she had a way of making him forget all about his problems. Last night, he hadn't even thought about the Avatar once or about regaining his honor. Zuko cursed himself. No, she was simply his prisoner, nothing more.


End file.
